Pentagon Eyes Significant Increase To Contingency Fund In 2020

The U.S. Dept. of Defense is planning to request a major increase to the controversial Overseas Contingency (OCO) account in fiscal 2020, reports Foreign Policy (Washington, D.C.).

The plan calls for boosting the OCO from around $69 billion in fiscal 2019 to $150 billion to $175 billion, according to multiple unnamed sources.

Entire accounts, such as the Army’s ammunition and training accounts, would be moved from the base budget into the OCO, the sources said.

Under the 2011 Budget Control Act, the Pentagon's budget is capped at $576 billion, well below the Trump administration's stated goal of $750 billion. The move is seen by some as an effort to bypass the budget cap without increasing non-defense spending.

The increase would bring the OCO budget to a level not seen since the height of the Iraq War in fiscal 2008, reported Inside Defense.

The move is particularly concerning given President Trump’s plans to drawdown U.S. troops worldwide, said analysts.

The request is unlikely to go far in Congress, where Democrats have said they will not increase defense spending above the cap unless it is matched by a similar boost in non-defense accounts.

The OCO account, which was established in 1985 as an emergency war fund, has often been criticized as a “slush fund” in order to circumvent mandatory spending limits. Funding is intended for overseas operations, but critics note that the budget has included billions of dollars worth of new equipment in recent years.

The Pentagon is scheduled to release a “skinny” budget with overall figures on March 11, with the full budget to follow on March 18.