Think tank urges OCO funding reform

The Stimson Center has released a report asserting the Pentagon's overseas contingency operations fund is being "misused" and should be phased out.

The report comes as the House appropriators and authorizers have advanced fiscal year 2017 defense bills that would transfer between $16 billion and $18 billion from the Pentagon's OCO account to its base budget to pay for increases in weapon system procurements and other expenses.

"We conclude in this report that the uncertainty created by current reliance on OCO, particularly to fund base budget needs, could be detrimental to national security," according to the Stimson report. "Given the consequences of continued misuse of OCO, we suggest that President Obama and his successor develop and commit to a credible plan to wind down OCO funding beginning with the expiration of the Bipartisan Budget Act in FY-20."

The alternative for transitioning "longer-term OCO expenses to the base budget could be achieved through a combination of increased budget caps, targeted cuts in inefficient defense programs, and increased revenues," the report states.

Read the full report.