Army Reserve chief wants better fiscal management

Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley told a writer's group Wednesday that Congress needs to put stricter requirements in place to prevent the government from overspending.

“The challenge under the Budget Control Act and sequestration is not that we need to control our spending, we do. It’s the lack of flexibility on how we curtail - it’s a lot of salami slicing,” Talley, chief of the Army Reserve, told the Defense Writers’ Group. “We need more flexibility in how we curb our budget and, to be honest ... leaders make decisions when they are in fiscally restrictive environments to do less with less. That old saying ‘do more with less’ is just ridiculous, that’s a fable."

The Budget Control Act of 2011 is broken and it is up to Congress to fix it, Talley said.

“We need more flexibility in how we curb our budget and, to be honest, ... leaders make decisions when they are in fiscally restrictive environments to do less with less. That old saying ‘do more with less’ is just ridiculous, that’s a fable,” he said.

Talley suggested that leaders be given the responsibility to make these decisions and establish priorities.

“Ever work for a boss where they had 10 No. 1 priorities?” Talley asked. “What our leaders need to do in Congress - and I’m confident they will - … they’ve got to make decisions, we’ve got to spend less money than we take in and we’ve got to prioritize.”