January 20, 2015
SOTU: Paul Scharre on the Defense Budget
The State of the Union will come shortly before the President's Budget is released to Congress, and the President should take this opportunity to reach out to Congress and show a willingness to work with them to lift the sequester and sufficiently fund the U.S. military. Military expenditures have come down significantly since their wartime peak and should not be allowed to grow unconstrained, but the sequester has been harmful and hurts military readiness and modernization. The Department of Defense needs the flexibility to allocate resources within the Department, as well as the ability to make hard choices on key defense programs. The President should also signal his desire to work with Congress on difficult issues to restrain military spending, including compensation reform and another round of base closures.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Defense / Middle East Security
Iran, Israel, and the U.S. Are Racing the ClockThis article was originally published in Foreign Policy. At first glance, the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran is an uneven fight. The United States and Israel have overwhelming ai...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
Eyes in the Sky
Reports
Executive Summary In the Department of Defense’s priority scenarios—a “defense by denial” of China and homeland defense—dedicated airborne sensing and battle management aircra...
By Philip Sheers
-
Video
Defense / Middle East Security
Key Questions, and an Expert Take, After U.S. Strikes IranWhat is the US trying to accomplish with continued, massive military strikes in Iran? The Center for a New American Security’s Stacie Pettyjohn joins host Aaron Mehta to dive ...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
How Congress Is Reacting to the Iran Conflict
Video
The US and Israel attacked Iran over the weekend, and Congress is scrambling to catch up. In this episode, Breaking Defense’s Aaron Mehta is joined by Stacie Pettyjohn of the ...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
