Base improvements for airmen and their families will be largely put on hold for 2017 as the Air Force focuses on operational necessities, a top general told Congress Friday.

"The simple truth is there's not enough money to go around," Lt. Gen. John Cooper, the deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering, and force protection, said at a meeting of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness.

"We're addressing the worst first," Cooper said. "The worst first focuses around the mission. So unfortunately, quality of life is competing against mission requirements and we are opting for our mission requirements."

Cooper estimated the service has "a backlog of $12 billion in facility restoration modernization projects" for bases. The current budget "does take risk in our installations," he said, but argued that the service needs to focus on military readiness.

Despite the lack of funding, the service is trying to reorganize to provide some benefits to airmen, the general said.

"Internally we are working processes on those core services to make sure our airmen can get the best we can give them, things like child development centers, things like gymnasiums and fitness centers and dining facilities," Cooper said. "We're using transformational efforts to make sure that we can expand hours, provide those services so that airmen can conduct the mission."

But, he added, "At the funding level we're at, we have to focus on modernization and readiness."

Due in part to sequestration cuts in 2013, Cooper said the Air Force must focus on construction that is critical for missions.

"We put more money into our military construction, and we put less money into our restoration modernization [for base facilities]," he said, adding that about the same amount of funding was going toward sustainment since "we've got to keep the buildings."

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