By Jen DiMascio
The Army National Guard needs $3.9 billion more than was included in its budget request for fiscal year 2009 and may run out of money for recruiting incentives this April if a war supplemental is not approved, Guard leaders told lawmakers yesterday.
That list includes a $2 billion shortage in equipment funding over about 342 different items, Gen. Steven Blum, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said during a House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing yesterday.
In addition, the supplemental spending bill pending before Congress includes about $700 million in Army National Guard personnel accounting including recruiting incentives and bonuses.
“Right now we’re running out of money for recruiting about April 15 of this year,” Blum said.
If the supplemental is not approved by that time, the Guard will need “some extremely painful reprogramming,” Blum said.
Passing a supplemental before the Easter recess is not likely because the schedule is so tight, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the chairman of the committee said.
He added that reprogramming funds is not always an easy task. If the four defense committees disagree on billpayers, the process could take a long time.