CSIS Bad Idea: Blaming OCO for Defense Budget Blunders

CSIS Bad Idea: Blaming OCO for Defense Budget Blunders
CSIS Bad Idea: Blaming OCO for Defense Budget Blunders

In other words, the fault is not with the OCO mechanism, but in many cases, with members of Congress who are critiquing its use.

House Dems Block Wall Funds, Slash Sub, But Add F-35s

House Dems Block Wall Funds, Slash Sub, But Add F-35s
House Dems Block Wall Funds, Slash Sub, But Add F-35s

The House Dems launch the first salvo in what promises to be a long defense budget saga, and they are drawing lines that will be hard to cross.

2020 BUDGET: Airpower Wins Big; ‘Multi-Domain’ Emerges

2020 BUDGET: Airpower Wins Big; ‘Multi-Domain’ Emerges
2020 BUDGET: Airpower Wins Big; ‘Multi-Domain’ Emerges

For all the talk of major changes, the Pentagon is pouring money into some pretty traditional priorities.

No, The Pentagon Did NOT Waste $28 Billion

No, The Pentagon Did NOT Waste $28 Billion
No, The Pentagon Did NOT Waste $28 Billion

One of our primary goals here at Breaking Defense is to try and avoid the madness of the daily news cycle and tell our readers what is really happening, as best as any human can tell at any time. The following explanation by two experienced defense budget experts of what really happened to $28 billion discussed in a…

2019 Forecast: Budget Battles & Confirmation Wars

2019 Forecast: Budget Battles & Confirmation Wars
2019 Forecast: Budget Battles & Confirmation Wars

Trump’s pick to replace Sec. Jim Mattis will be a key indicator about where the president wants to drive the department — and the confirmation process will show what the Senate will accept — while the defense budget may be collateral damage from a bitterly divided Congress.

$750 Billion Or Bust? Trump’s (Latest) Big Defense Budget Bound For Big Fights

$750 Billion Or Bust? Trump’s (Latest) Big Defense Budget Bound For Big Fights
$750 Billion Or Bust? Trump’s (Latest) Big Defense Budget Bound For Big Fights

Few of the experts we spoke to expect the administration to actually see the full $750 billion President Trump will reportedly propose this week. Between Trump himself calling the figure a “negotiating tactic” and the potential for it driving a $1.2 trillion deficit, the odds are awfully long.

What Really Matters In The Defense Authorization Act & What Didn’t Get Done

What Really Matters In The Defense Authorization Act & What Didn’t Get Done
What Really Matters In The Defense Authorization Act & What Didn’t Get Done

Most coverage of the annual defense policy bill has focused on program changes: more ships (including six icebreakers!), no change to F-35’s, more RDT&E, no JSTARS recap, a growl (but no more) on ZTE, and many more (the bill and report run 2,500 pages). Less discussed, but of more import in the long run, are the…

‘Extraordinary’ National Security Space Changes, 7-Year V-22 Multiyear In NDAA

‘Extraordinary’ National Security Space Changes, 7-Year V-22 Multiyear In NDAA
‘Extraordinary’ National Security Space Changes, 7-Year V-22 Multiyear In NDAA

  UPDATED: Adds Changes To Air Force Space Command CAPITOL HILL: Principal DoD Space Advisor. Gone. Air Force’s new A-11 space staff. Kaput. Defense Space Council. Dead. And that’s really just the beginning of what the Senate and House Armed Services Committees hath wrought to national security space in the National Defense Authorization Act. The…

House, Senate Only 0.6% Apart On Defense Budget: $704B vs. $708B

House, Senate Only 0.6% Apart On Defense Budget: $704B vs. $708B
House, Senate Only 0.6% Apart On Defense Budget: $704B vs. $708B

WASHINGTON: Despite reported differences, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees propose almost identical toplines for national security spending. In an apples to apples comparison, after correcting for discrepancies in what the two committees count, HASC’s total is $704 billion, SASC’s is $708. That’s a difference of just 0.6 percent, presenting a strong united front…

Thornberry Compromises: $631B For Defense

Thornberry Compromises: $631B For Defense
Thornberry Compromises: $631B For Defense

UPDATED: Harrison says Senate Dems are key CAPITOL HILL: The House Armed Services Committee will propose $631.5 billion in funding for defense, HASC staff told reporters this afternoon. That is about 1.4 percent less than the $640 billion HASC chairman Mac Thornberry and his Senate counterpart John McCain campaigned for, but it’s also 4.7 percent above…

Continuing Resolution Fears? OCO’s Ugly But It Might Work

Continuing Resolution Fears? OCO’s Ugly But It Might Work
Continuing Resolution Fears? OCO’s Ugly But It Might Work

Two weeks from today America will either be a laughingstock or Congress will have done the responsible thing, the necessary thing, and passed some kind of useful spending bills. Or, as Mark Cancian, a former senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, suggests, there may be a sort of defense spending bandage to strap…

The Skinny On Trump’s Skinny Budget: Much Still Unclear

The Skinny On Trump’s Skinny Budget: Much Still Unclear
The Skinny On Trump’s Skinny Budget: Much Still Unclear

The Trump administration’s long awaited “skinny budget”, officially named “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again”, has arrived. It confirms the $54 billion increase in defense, and proposes to add $30 billion to this year’s (fiscal 2017) budget. It provides a description of what the Trump administration hopes to achieve in defense…

2018 Budget Battle Between Defense, Budget Hawks Begins; Nukes Top Priority

2018 Budget Battle Between Defense, Budget Hawks Begins; Nukes Top Priority
2018 Budget Battle Between Defense, Budget Hawks Begins; Nukes Top Priority

CAPITOL HILL: The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee thinks President Trump’s 2018 spending plan is dead on arrival and has already gone to the Budget Committee to get a much bigger defense budget. Mac Thornberry also doesn’t want defense increases offset by steep cuts to the Coast Guard or State Department, as Trump proposed. Thornberry…

The $640 Billion Solution: Thornberry, Wilson Want More Defense $ From Trump

The $640 Billion Solution: Thornberry, Wilson Want More Defense $ From Trump
The $640 Billion Solution: Thornberry, Wilson Want More Defense $ From Trump

WASHINGTON: Can Congress close the gap between the $603 billion President Trump wants for defense and the $640 billion pro-defense legislators say is necessary for 2018? Yes, we can, says Rep. Joe Wilson, new chairman of the House readiness panel. “I support (House Armed Services) chairman Mac Thornberry and (Senate Armed Services chairman) John McCain,” he…