Pentagon warns of funding problems

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department Wednesday began what has become an annual rite in debates over war funding, warning that the military may have to stop paying people if Congress doesn't pass a war spending measure soon.

At a Pentagon news briefing, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters that a suspension of pay is just one possibility if Congress fails to act on the spending bill before its August recess.

The Army and Marines, he suggested, would take the brunt of any austerity measures because certain accounts for those services will "run dry" in August.

"It may involve asking people to report without having money to pay them," Mr. Morrell said.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who discussed the issue with congressional Republicans Tuesday, is "very concerned about the predicament this places us in," Mr. Morrell said.

Although the situation is not unfamiliar to the department — war spending bills have often been delayed in recent years, prompting similar threats — officials have begun making emergency plans in case the money does not materialize, Mr. Morrell said.

"All of this is extraordinarily disruptive to the department," said Mr. Morrell, though he added that the department has "gotten used to these fire drills."

The spending bill has been tied up in a dispute about whether nondefense-related items should be added, particularly in the Senate. Democratic leaders have proposed adding about $10 billion in aid to localities to avoid teacher layoffs, as well as other domestic priorities, but Republicans have resisted that effort, saying it does not belong in an emergency spending bill.

Democrats have been looking for ways to offset the cost of helping school districts, but even some of their own members — such as Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh — have urged against putting extra items in the bill.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Mr. Owens said the House is essentially waiting for the Senate to break the logjam. The House passed its version of the spending bill, with $37 billion for Afghanistan and $10 billion for teachers and other domestic issues, shortly before its July 4 recess.

"I don't know how we're going to make that institution act," Mr. Owens said.