Fight emerging in authorization bill over troop strength

As House and Senate conferees prepare to negotiate the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill next month, lawmakers say they will be pitted against the Pentagon in the debate over raising Army and Marine Corps troop levels.

Both the House- and Senate-approved military "end-strength" increases in fiscal 2005 defense authorizing legislation passed earlier this summer.

House Armed Services Total Force Subcommittee Chairman John McHugh, R-N.Y., said while little philosophical disagreement exists between the two chambers in terms of the need for more troops, the conference is expected to battle Pentagon heavyweights over the end-strength issue.

"The conference will and should provide an opportunity for opposition," McHugh told CongressDaily, adding that Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker and civilian Defense Department leaders "have some different perspectives on this." The challenge, he said, will be establishing an "agreed-upon final number," which is likely to fall somewhere between the House's call for 9,000 more marines and 30,000 more soldiers, and the Senate's authorized Army increase of 20,000 soldiers.

The Pentagon has lobbied for the lowest figure possible, citing the hefty $1.2 billion needed to train and equip 10,000 new soldiers in a given year. But cost aside, the need for more troops is not lost on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who has taken several steps to bolster Army ranks outside of congressional mandates, including suspending military retirements, calling individual ready reservists back to active duty and extending deployments for National Guard and reserve troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last week, the Army unveiled "Operation Blue to Green," a campaign aimed at enticing Navy and Air Force personnel to become soldiers. Key lawmakers have endorsed the program, though even some supporters point out that the move highlights how desperate the Army is to fill out its ranks.

"It's smart to go after folks who have shown a proclivity to serve and have been trained at some level through previous service," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., a member of the Total Force Subcommittee. On the other hand, she said, "It shows how extreme the measures are that we're going through to bring people into the active duty ranks."

McHugh, who supports the congressionally mandated troop level increase, said he backs Pentagon initiatives such as "Blue to Green." The Air Force and Navy are reducing their ranks this year by 20,000 and 8,000, respectively.

"We ought to ensure that these highly trained military people are provided an opportunity to continue to serve," he said, noting that the cost in money and time needed to train new recruits versus utilizing military personnel from other service branches is significant. "It's one thing to authorize end-strength," he said. "It's another to put boots on the ground."