Influential national security reform group caught up in defense bill SNAFU

When Congress plays politics with the appropriations bills, it’s not just the huge government agencies that pay the price. Sometime the little guy, important actors who depend on government funding but don’t have the lobbying power to complain, get caught up in the mix.

Such is the case with the stalled defense funding bill, which is going nowhere this month despite the fact that the new fiscal year began more than a month ago. Congressional leaders unveiled a catch-all spending bill this week that included all appropriations except the defense bill. Democrats want to save that one because as a "must-pass" bill, they can use it later as a vehicle to try to pass whatever else Republicans don’t want to support.

The thinking is that Republicans will be compelled to vote for whatever is attached to military funding. It’s a cynical but effective tactic that’s used every year. Meanwhile, the Defense Department manages somehow, operating on last year’s funding levels until the next tranche of half a trillion dollars or so comes through.

Meanwhile, at the Project for National Security Reform, which also happens to be funded by the defense bill, time is of the essence. The group’s 2009 budget of $4 million, which is funded through a defense earmark, hasn’t been renewed yet and the organization is taking measures to stretch every penny.

The work of PNSR, which has done some groundbreaking research into the dysfunctional state of America’s national security infrastructure and has ties to National Security Advisor James L. Jones, continues, and the organization’s leaders have confidence they will continue to produce the quality work they are known for. But they’ve had to cut staff, delay some programs, and take other measures to compensate for a lack of new funding.

"Because of that, we’re in a period of financial stress for PNSR. We’ve had to slow down our pace of activity, conserve our resources," James R. Locher III, PNSR’s president and CEO, told The Cable. "Undeniably it’s had an impact on us."

The PNSR "core staff" is down from 40 to 28 full or part-time employees, he said, leaving some senior staff positions vacant. Whatever funds are left could last until the end of January, he said.

Still, PNSR’s work goes forward, with a progress report on its recently released report due to come out in September.

But even when the defense bill goes through, the organization is only slated to get $2 million, half of last year’s allotment. That was a decision made by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in its authorization deliberations.

So PNSR leaders are getting creative about where they get their funding by seeking partnerships with departments, agencies, foundations, private corporations — you name it — to make up the difference. They’ve already partnered with think tanks and universities but are now planning to expand that model.

"We think it’s much more appropriate for our customers to pay for the work we are doing to help their path to reform," said Locher, noting that sometime it’s hard to get money from departments and agencies.

Despite the funding SNAFU, Locher says he’s confident the mission of PSNR and its noted influence (top officials and experts always participate) will continue strong.

"National Security reform is a hugely important story," he said. "This is something that absolutely has to happen. We can’t just keep the current broken system."