Senate Bill Would Allow Pentagon to Transfer Funds to Different Uses

Sen. Paul Says Bill Needed for 'Defending Our Military Men and Women'

Sen. Rand Paul (R – KY) today announced the introduction of a new bill, dubbed the Military Sequester Flexibility Act, which would give the Pentagon broad leeway to transfer funds around its various projects.

Though Sen. Paul presented the bill as mitigating sequestration, the bill also authorizes the Secretary of Defense to make such transfers whenever he feels it is “in the national interest.”

The bill limits the transfers to $50 billion annually, plus an unlimited amount of additional transfers between military personnel authorizations. Paul insisted the bill, which would expire in 2023, is needed for “defending our military men and women.”

The act is likely to be quite controversial, as while Senate hawks have been eager to circumvent sequestration, it has focused primarily on just increasing spending, and not giving the Pentagon authority to ignore parts of the heavily debated and highly political earmarking of its budget.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.