The Ukraine invasion shows why America needs to get its defense budget in order

At a time when the Pentagon’s top leaders should be worrying about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its potential ripple effects around the world, they’re also forced to contend with a crisis of America’s own making: the languishing defense budget. In this op ed, AEI’s John Ferrari and Elaine McCusker write that lawmakers and the president must fix the problem at home so that the US can be adequately prepared to deter aggression abroad.

With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, war is now on the border of our NATO allies for which we have pledged collective defense. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent diatribe has indicated his desire to restore the Russian empire, and maybe we should take him at his word. There’s no possible argument that the world is a safer place today than it was a week ago, and the Biden administration should adjust accordingly.

Ukraine is now the target, but are the Baltics and other regions safe? Probably not. Does the potential for China to take action against Taiwan in the near term further increase? It is hard to ignore that shortly after the Ukraine conflict began China flew planes through Taiwan’s claimed air defense identification zone.

The threat of sanctions and diplomacy failed as a deterrent, and are now being used by Washington and its allies as a punishment in lieu of military force. We can assume that similar to North Korea, Putin as an autocratic despot has no limits to the depth of suffering he is willing to impose on the Russian population. But that doesn’t mean the US lacks a way of employing resources to make Putin regret his decision and to increase capability for the Pacific. The president and Congress have an opportunity in the next month to demonstrate resolve to both Russia and China, using the Federal Budget as a weapon.

First, the president and Congress must work together to enact the fiscal 2022 budget. Defense has been languishing under a continuing resolution (CR) for nearly six months, with political gridlock holding up requested funding to support activities in Europe, including $275 million in aid for Ukraine.

CRs are incredibly damaging to readiness, as our service chiefs have recently testified. The nation loses unrecoverable time and, according to numbers from leading trade associations, up to $100 million per day in defense buying power under the temporary funding measure. [PDF]

More directly, it is hard for anyone to take a Congressional commitment to Ukraine seriously until it has secured the basic defense requirements for US forces in the region and elsewhere. Before rushing to get new money to Ukraine, let’s pass the fiscal year 2022 appropriations and get the money already planned for them cleared and on its way.

Second, the President should submit a FY23 defense budget of $814 billion to cover inflation and modernize the military, while also working an agreement with Congress and pass that budget on time this September.

Third, the President should submit to the Congress an FY22 Emergency Supplemental to respond to the violence in the Ukraine, reassure our allies in Europe, and deter China from getting any adventurous ideas while the Ukraine situation plays out. The supplemental should be for $45 billion, spread as follows:

• For the Navy: $30 billion to fully fund the 20-year shipyard infrastructure plan and increase Navy personnel. The Chief of Naval Operations recently stated he needs 500 ships. Without infrastructure, this cannot be achieved. Regardless of the Ukraine situation, the Navy will carry the burden in a China fight, and we need to fix the shipyards. And not having a ready Navy means that both Russia and China may be tempted into action. The Department should request a 15,000 increase in Navy personnel, to manage fatigue, reduce crewing shortfalls, and train.
• For the Army: $10 billion, covering the cost of the recent troop deployments to Europe and for two additional Armor brigades of prepositioned equipment in Poland and the Baltic States. Additionally, the funds would allow for permanently stationing the V Corps headquarters in Europe and building stockpiles of munitions.
• For the Air Force: $5 billion, in order to manage stockpiles and people. Our Air Force lacks pilots to fly the planes we have and will quickly run out of munitions in a war. During the conflict against ISIS, it took three years to replenish our stocks of high-end munitions. Pushing cash into that area now, instead of waiting for a situation where we have depleted stocks, means industry can plan for increased output and keep ahead of the problem.
• An emergency supplemental should also consider increases for humanitarian aid and Foreign Military Financing at the State Department to arm Eastern European Allies.

Lastly, our nation should encourage American youth to serve in the military. The Air Force recently reported that its pipeline of recruits is drying up. To start, the President should announce that in the face of increasing inflation, he will raise the pay of our military by the same amount. Our national leaders need to encourage service. Now is not the time to signal to Russia and China that we cannot man our force.

With Russia and China aligning, the world is likely to get much more dangerous. Neither will be deterred by diplomacy alone. Diplomacy and sanctions must be backed up by ready, capable hard power.  Our military and the industrial base that supports it have languished under a stagnant budget and temporary funding measures for too long. The time for action is now.

Maj. Gen. John Ferrari, US Army (ret.), is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and is the former director of program analysis and evaluation for the US Army. Elaine McCusker is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and a former Acting Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).