Glenn Walters

The second highest-ranking officers from each of the military services told Congress on Tuesday that they’d welcome a short-term cash infusion along the lines that the President and Defense secretary have directed the military services to propose as add-ons to the 2017 budget in order to bring the armed forces to a higher level of readiness.

Pentagon said exemptions to President Donald Trump’s 90-day hiring freeze were not necessarily a resolution for civilian Defense employees, as some agencies are still waiting for guidance on how to implement the provisions.

Freezing civilian federal workers might leave the Navy short the engineers it needs to build up to 355 ships.

The Defense Department is worried about being able to spend the $700 billion it will be given if Congress passes an appropriations bill.

In today’s Federal Newscast, 24 agencies plan to consolidate their office space in the coming years according to the Government Accountability Office.

Gen. Glenn Walters, the Marine Corps assistant commandant, said less than 0.5 percent of the Marine total force is “truly non-deployable.”

The omnibus spending bill pays for service members’ 2.4 percent pay increase and increases end strength.

The Army is still figuring out how to deal with soldiers who are nondeployable for a year or more.