Bad Idea: The “Use-It-Or-Lose-It” Law for DoD Spending

[rangerrebew]

Bad Idea: The “Use-It-Or-Lose-It” Law for DoD Spending
 
December 15, 2020 — The Honorable Robert F. Hale   

Year-end spending sprees. Increased violations of federal financial laws. Bad press for the Department of Defense (DoD). All these unfortunate events stem in part from a law requiring that DoD’s operating funds be spent in the year they are appropriated. Congress can significantly improve the effectiveness of defense spending by changing this “use it or lose it” law.

Specifically, funding for operation and maintenance (O&M) and military personnel (MILPERS) accounts must be spent in the year they are appropriated, or, with rare exceptions, they are no longer available to pay bills and instead revert to the Treasury. (To be technically correct, by “spending,” I am referring to obligating the funds by entering into a contract or by other means.) Accordingly, at the end of each year, most defense organizations take extraordinary steps to spend all funds in these appropriations, resulting in sharp year-end spending spikes. A 2010 study by researchers from Harvard and Stanford showed that, in fiscal years from 2004 to 2009, DoD spending in the final week of the fiscal year soared to more than four times the average weekly level during the rest of the year. The same result occurred in most other federal agencies.

https://defense360.csis.org/bad-idea-the-use-it-or-lose-it-law-for-dod-spending/

[rangerrebew]

In my years aboard an aircraft carrier, it was always interesting to sit around the fantail at night, at the end of the funding period.  All kinds of stuff went over the side so the division dumping it could spend money to keep the budget the same and have extra if the needed something extra.  I remember about 0500 one morning sitting back there and the cooks brought out a box of freshly cooked steaks (it took two guys to haul it back there).  They had to have the steaks off the serving line by 0600 or lose funding.  I told them I would sit there and eat those bad boys until I was gasping to move, and then I would chuck the rest to the sharks.  I probably didn't eat another morsel for three days.

[Hoodat]

This is true of all departments.  Instead they should pay out percentage bonuses to all department heads for any money left over that can be cut from future budgets.

[rangerrebew]

This is true of all departments.  Instead they should pay out percentage bonuses to all department heads for any money left over that can be cut from future budgets.

I like that idea = a lot!

[SZonian]

The August wish list time...get any and all insane "needs" put on the Resource Officer's desk by EOM.

By the end of September, if there was enough $$, we had most of what was on the list...wasteful and in many cases, useless.