Van Hollen: There is Clearly Bipartisan Opposition to Using OCO as a Slush Fund

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement on reports that the Military Construction/VA appropriations bill was pulled from the House floor because of bipartisan support for the Van Hollen-Mulvaney amendments to prevent the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budget as a slush fund:

"There is clearly bipartisan opposition to using the Overseas Contingency Operations budget as a slush fund for non-war related projects. I will continue to work with Congressman Mulvaney and my other colleagues to fight against this abuse of the budget process. We need to get back to the table to have an honest debate about our budget and renegotiate the funding caps for both defense and nondefense. Only then will we be able to provide the necessary resources for our national security needs and to ensure we keep the nation's commitments to education, research, infrastructure, and other crucial drivers of economic prosperity."

Source