The Defense Department keeps threatening to cut back program activities if a war supplemental isn't passed immediately. Here's more evidence that they're bluffing or lying. From page 3 of a Nov. 9th CRS report (emph. mine): With passage of the regular FY2008 DOD Appropriations bill, DOD no longer has access to the $70 billion provided as a bridge fund in last year's appropriation.1 DOD can, however, case flow or finance war costs using funds in its regular appropriations. As in recent years, Congress faces pressure to provide war funding quickly so that the Army — the service facing the largest war costs — does not have to use this practice, which they argue disrupts their baseline program. The Army has not, however, provided evidence of any readiness problems arising from temporarily tapping regular appropriations to finance war costs (see section below on FY2007 experience). Based on DOD data, CRS, like the Army, estimates that the Army could continue to finance its war operating costs until mid-January 2008 by using funds slated to be used at the end of the year to cover war costs in the initial months of the fiscal year. If DOD transferred additional funds to the Army and the Army slowed its non-readiness related regular spending, as occurred last spring, CRS estimates that the Army could last about an additional month, or until mid to late-February 2008. If Congress doesn't call their bluff, we're looking at a repeat of this May's war spending fight, which ended with the President getting everything he requested.