Defense Budget

From fiscal years 1994 through 1999, the military moved $7.1 billion into real property maintenance and base operations, bringing the total funding for these activities to $95.7 billion?or eight percent more than the original congressional designation. The movement of funds into and out of training varied according to the military services. Although it is impossible to trace the origins of all funds moved into real property maintenance and base operations and to determine the effects of these movements on readiness, Defense Department (DOD) reports show that at least some of the money that the Army and the Air Force moved into these activities came from unit training. DOD's reports to Congress on high-priority readiness-related transfers in fiscal years 1997 and 1998 show that the Army moved $641 million from unit training to real property maintenance and attribute these movements to greater efficiencies in training. The fiscal year 1998 report also shows that the Air Force moved $35 million from unit training to base operations.

GAO noted that: (1) from fiscal years 1994 through 1999, the services moved $7.1 billion into real property maintenance and base operations, bringing the total funding for these activities to $95.7 billion, or 8 percent more than the initial congressional designation of $88.6 billion; (2) the services' movement of funds into and out of unit training varied; (3) the Navy and the Marine Corps consistently moved funds into unit training; (4) the Army moved funds out of unit training from fiscal year (FY) 1997 through 1999 (the only years for which comparable Army data is available); (5) the Air Force decreased unit training funds in 1994 and 1995 and increased funding in later years; (6) while it is not possible to trace the origins of all funds moved into real property maintenance and base operations and to determine the effects of these movements on readiness, DOD reports show that at least some of the funds that the Army and the Air Force moved into these activities came from unit training; (7) DOD's reports to Congress on high-priority readiness-related transfers in fiscal years 1997 and 1998 show that the Army moved $641 million from unit training to real property maintenance and attribute these movements to increased efficiencies in training; (8) the FY 1998 report also shows that the Air Force moved $35 million from unit training to base operations; and (9) DOD generally agreed with GAO's analysis and facts as presented in GAO's latest report.