WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- The Pentagon is siphoning off money from a number of procurement programs to meet force protection needs of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House said.
The siphoning is the result of Congress not acting quickly enough to pass the emergency war funding supplemental for fiscal 2007, which was submitted to Congress by the administration 52 days ago, it said.
"... There are very real consequences for delaying action on the emergency spending bill," spokeswoman Dana Perino said Thursday. "The President spent his urgent request for funds to support the troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan 52 days ago. Our troops are in harm's way and engaged with the enemy, and they need the funds."
The administration request for over $90 billion has just passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but the two versions must be reconciled. Both include billions of extra dollars for unrelated home-district projects added on by lawmakers as well as well as binding and non-binding troop withdrawal provisions President Bush has promised to veto.
Perino said the Department of Defense notified Congress Thursday morning and that the money being taken was originally intended for Army and Marine programs for "medium tactical vehicle replacement, Humvees and Humvee equipment, the tactical communications modernization program, and upgrades to other vehicles."
The borrowed monies would be used to "accelerate delivery of nearly 300 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles that were included in the president's supplemental request and are needed by our troops on the ground."
"This reprogramming of funds is only necessary because Congress has failed to act in a timely manner on the president's emergency funding request," she said.
Figures for the amount of money being reprogrammed were not immediately available.
