{"id":61178,"date":"2019-12-10T20:35:53","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T20:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/10\/congress-wants-five-year-budget-plan-for-european-defense-fund\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:35:57","slug":"congress-wants-five-year-budget-plan-for-european-defense-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/12\/10\/congress-wants-five-year-budget-plan-for-european-defense-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress wants five-year budget plan for European defense fund"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Congress wants the Pentagon to produce a five-year plan for the European Deterrence Initiative fund<\/a>, much like what is required each year when the Defense Department rolls out its base budget request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fiscal 2020 defense policy bill\u2019s conference report released Dec. 9<\/a>, Congress gives the Pentagon a tight deadline to produce a future years plan for the EDI account for FY20 \u2014 no later than the end of the year \u2014 that covers \u201cnot fewer than the four succeeding fiscal years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress wants the defense secretary and the head of U.S. European Command to submit to congressional defense committees subsequent future five-year plans beginning in FY21 at the same time as budget requests are submitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EDI account<\/a> \u2014 initially called the European Reassurance Initiative \u2014 was created to help Eastern European allies deter Russia<\/a> from further incursion into Europe following its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and continued military activity in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Army\u2019s presence at the time of the annexation had dwindled from roughly 200,000 troops in Europe in the 1980s to around 33,000 in 2015. The Army had only two permanently stationed brigade combat teams, had closed more than 100 sites since 2006, and was concentrated in Italy and Germany rather than along NATO\u2019s eastern flank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plans should contain a description of the \u201cintended force structure and posture\u201d of the assigned forces in Europe for the last fiscal year as well as \u201cthe manner in which such force structure and posture support the implementation of the National Defense Strategy,\u201d according to the bill\u2019s report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan should also detail infrastructure and military construction investments and the assessment of resources including cost estimates for each project needed to achieve requirements such as increased presence, exercises, training, enhanced pre-positioning of stocks and building partnership capacity, the bill noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon should also include a timeline to achieve force posture and capabilities to include permanent posture requirements as well as a detailed account of what has changed from the previous year, according to the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the Defense Department is required to submit a report no later than the end of November 2020 and each year after summarizing in detail funds obligated for EDI for the past fiscal year, as well as a comparison of funds requested for the following fiscal year.<\/p>\n\n\n\t