Given the increased rate of inflation, the situation in Ukraine and the fact Congress has acted decisively to increase defense spending in the last year, it’s no surprise that the DoD budget has increased over the FY22 request of $715 billion.
By Aaron MehtaJohn Ferrari of AEI lays out why it would benefit the Biden White House to give a big defense budget topline now — and how DoD should spend the money.
By John Ferrari“This is a terrible idea for several reasons,” Bryan Clark of the Hudson Institute said. The oldest ships would need to undergo a service life extension, while the newer ships would have to undergo expensive upgrades for a complex new mission.
By Paul McLearyBy pushing work online – and partially paralyzing Congress – COVID-19 has highlighted shortfalls the co-founder of the Cyber Caucus has warned about for 19 years.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Planning for a 21st century Navy of unmanned vessels, distributed operations, and great power competition has collapsed. Trapped by a 355-ship force goal, a reduced budget, and a fixed counting methodology, the Navy can’t find a feasible solution to the difficult question of how its forces should be structured. As a result, the Navy postponed…
By Mark Cancian and Adam SaxtonAfter three years of budget growth for the Pentagon, the armed services are going to unveil some drastic changes for the 2021 budget.
By Paul McLearyThe White House surprised DoD with a last-minute $33 billion budget trim last week. But it’s far from certain that the cuts will outlive months of haggling between the Trump administration, the Pentagon and Congress.
By Paul McLearyTrump’s plan would undercut the more expansive National Defense Strategy for “great power competition” that embattled Defense Secretary Jim Mattis rolled out just nine months ago.
By Mark CancianTrump campaigned on more money for the Pentagon, but his budget director appears to have won the fight for sweeping, across the board cuts to all federal agencies, including the Pentagon.
By Paul McLearyGiven the two-year break from sequestration, the Pentagon is hurrying up to hire civilians to push the modernization of the force to head off advances by China and Russia, a new DoD strategy document says.
By Paul McLearyWASHINGTON: The federal government needs to spend more money on civilian agencies like the State Department, NASA, and the FAA, not just defense, the aerospace industry’s top lobbyist said today, but there’s no reasoning with a portion of Congress that wants cuts at any cost. “There’s a part of Congress that’s suspicious of everything,” said…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.UPDATE: Source Says WH Will Fund LCS Add; CRS Naval Expert Comments CAPITOL HILL: In a startling turnabout, the Trump Administration now “supports” adding a $541 million Littoral Combat Ship to yesterday’s 2018 budget request, Navy officials told Congress this afternoon. What, exactly, does that mean? The Navy doesn’t know. Minutes before Navy witnesses were to testify…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
If the Biden administration wants to ensure America’s security while protecting non-defense spending, it needs to start working on a budget deal before November’s election, says John Ferrari of AEI.
By John Ferrari