Last week the Department of Defense asked the Senate to cut $120 million from the Military Spouse Career Advancement program for fiscal year 2012.

Sources told Military.com and other media outlets that the cuts do not mean the program will be changed, but rather that fewer spouses are using the scholarships, meaning less money is needed.

When MyCAA was launched in 2010, the program offered $6,000 scholarships to all spouses, regardless of their sponsor’s rank. Months later, Pentagon sources said the popular program simply ran out of money. It was redesigned to focus on junior spouses and offer fewer funds per student.

The DOD is currently awaiting top leaders to finalize a $260 billion reduction in planned spending over the next five years. A total of $450 billion in cuts to defense spending are planned over the coming decade. The department could lose another $500 billion as Congress tries to cut $1.2 trillion from the government budget by Thanksgiving.

Officials told media members this week that the smaller MyCAA budget is not a result of the overall spending cuts and that the scholarship program will not change how it operates or what spouses are eligible.