Despite Opposition, US War Funding Likely To Pass

[nitpicker]

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140720/DEFREG02/307200014/Despite-Opposition-US-War-Funding-Likely-Pass?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

Despite Opposition, US War Funding Likely To Pass
Jul. 20, 2014 - 02:33PM | By MARCUS WEISGERBER

WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats showed a rare display of bipartisanship last week when members of both parties criticized the Pentagon’s $58.6 billion war budget request, but experts say Congress will likely approve the measure.

US lawmakers directed the majority of their frustration at a$5 billion White House request for the newly created counterterrorism partnership fund. Of this total, $4 billion is part of the Pentagon’s $58.6 billion overseas contingency operations (OCO) budget request that was sent to Congress in late June. The remaining $1 billion is in the State Department’s OCO request.

At a July 17 House Budget Committee hearing, several lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called the counterterrorism request a “blank check,” saying the White House and Defense Department have provided little detail as to how DoD would spend the money.
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In addition to the contentious counterterrorism request, lawmakers also have questioned the size of the OCO request. Discontentment is growing over DoD’s OCO spending in both political parties and chambers of Congress.
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Lawmakers want DoD to provide more details so they can determine how much of the OCO budget is for operating costs in Afghanistan and how much is for enduring missions.
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