Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., will almost certainly face questions during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday afternoon about how he will oversee the Pentagon’s war chest if confirmed as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The overseas contingency operations account is meant to fund U.S. missions overseas, but in recent years has been used as a way to boost defense spending without repealing the Budget Control Act, since the war chest is not subject to budget caps. That’s earned it names such as the Pentagon’s “slush fund” and critics call it a budgeting “gimmick.”
Mulvaney has been one of the key leaders on Capitol Hill fighting back against use of the overseas contingency operations account. He introduced a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in May that sought to stop abuse of the overseas account, which he said was a good first step to his ultimate goal of doing away with it entirely.
“I’ve worked for many years to bring attention to the slush fund that is the War Budget,” Mulvaney said in a statement. “It’s past time to do away with the slush fund entirely. While this amendment doesn’t go that far, yet, I’m proud to work with my colleagues to at least bring some accountability to how the Pentagon spends taxpayer dollars right now.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and also sits on the committee overseeing Mulvaney’s confirmation, said he intends to raise the issue during the hearing because of past statements like this.
“I’m going to have some very interesting questions for Mr. Mulvaney,” McCain said Monday night at the Capitol. “I know about his record.”
Two other lawmakers sit on both committees: Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Gary Peters, D-Mich.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., and chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said he’s not planning to question Mulvaney on his past OCO statements.
“That one’s not on my list right now but others might. Defense spending is always going to be a topic of conversation,” he told the Washington Examiner.
A panel of defense budget experts from think tanks said Monday one of the top questions they would ask Mulvaney at his confirmation is if he’ll stick to the viewpoint expressed in this amendment, as well as how he would modify criteria for what can be included in the the overseas contingency operations account.
The South Carolina Republican will testify before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at 2:30 p.m. Three members of the Senate panel that will question him during his confirmation are also members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
