THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 8, 1995 TAG: 9502080540
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: TOM PHILPOTT
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The ``Contract With America'' signed by House Republicans last fall includes a promise to privatize many government programs, and that could include military commissaries, say congressional sources.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, has discussed with colleagues a recommendation to phase out the $1 billion annual subsidy needed to run the military's 326 grocery stores, sources said.
Commissary privatization is one of many proposals under review to impose new discipline on federal spending. It's symbolic too of Kasich's dilemma: trying to reconcile conflicting Republican campaign promises to balance the budget, reduce taxes and yet keep U.S. defenses strong.
``Certainly, commissary privatization is at least an option,'' a committee staff member confirmed. Lawmakers will weigh the ``monetary savings versus any real or perceived reduction in benefits to military members.''
``It could be too large a disincentive for service members to re-enlist,'' he added.
The meaning of ``privatization'' varies by a commissary's locale. At most stateside bases it either means closing the store and forcing patrons to shop at commercial markets, or selling the commissary to a commercial grocer who agrees to serve patrons on base. A store then ``would sink or swim on its own,'' said a budget analyst. Savings for commissary shoppers, estimated at 23 percent, would disappear.
At isolated bases and overseas, privatization usually would mean operating stores under a subsidized government contract, so prices and quality stay comparable to stateside.
The House Budget Committee, in its search for savings, apparently is relying heavily on an annual list of deficit-reduction ideas published by the Congressional Budget Office.
Last March, the CBO suggested phasing out the commissary subsidy over five years. Commissaries, it said, should return to their ``original purpose of providing food items to active-duty military personnel in remote locations.''
``If CBO sees fit to suggest it, it's going to be looked at,'' said a committee staffer. ``But like all these choices, this cut will be a very hard one to make.''
The budget committee alone cannot kill commissary funding. It sets the overall budget and spending limits on broad areas such as defense. Under the ceilings, the national security and appropriations committees determine how defense money is spent. But by setting tight ceilings, and urging specific cuts, Kasich's committee could put commissaries at risk.
``Advocates of people programs should be cautious about advancing such a proposal,'' said Fred Pang, assistant secretary of defense for force management. ``They'd be cutting a very important quality-of-life benefit.''
Adding to the uncertainty are mixed signals on budget priorities from House Republicans. Some, like Kasich, say the key is balancing the budget. Others, like Rep. Floyd Spence of South Carolina, new chairman of the National Security Committee, want defense spending raised.
``How should we read them on defense?'' asked a Pentagon official. ``I don't think they know for sure themselves. There's a lot of discord in the House right now.''
Last November, Defense Secretary William Perry ended speculation that the Clinton administration would attack commissaries by making a strong statement of support.
But with Republicans now controlling Congress, Kasich soon might ask them to decide the importance of commissaries when weighed against '94 campaign promises. If it gets that far, Congress can expect to hear from military shoppers, many of them pointing to an implied ``contract'' of their own. MEMO: Freelance writer Tom Philpott has spent 17 years covering the military,
including six years as editor of the independent Navy Times. His column,
Military Update, runs in newspapers coast to coast and overseas. It will
appear monthly in The Virginian-Pilot. by CNB