September 23, 2021
Presentation is key: Why the Pentagon’s budget data needs a makeover
Within the fiscal 2022 defense budget request, the Department of Defense has invested in the next generation of leading emerging technologies and capabilities. Ironically, at the same time, the way in which the funding of these new capabilities is organized is entirely outdated. As a pleasant surprise, however, the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act, which had its House Armed Services Committee markup hearing earlier this month, requires the DoD to provide reports on how to improve defense budget-related materials.
While improvements to budget data materials don’t earn the award for sexiest line in the NDAA, it was a pleasant surprise to see this issue garner some attention. Although we’ve become accustomed to traversing the treasure trove of budget data, improvements to the materials are long overdue — not only to make the lives of budget analysts easier, but to ensure greater transparency and oversight, thus helping ensure resources align to strategy.
As technology advances, Congress and the DoD need to not only focus investments on capabilities, but also on DoD processes and organizational culture.
Each year, the department releases budget justification documents, which consist of essential budget data, in the form of thousands of PDF pages and several Excel files across multiple websites. The format of these materials has not changed for roughly 20 years.
The first major issue with the presentation of defense budget data is that it’s scattered. Data is dispersed across PDFs and Excel files, making it difficult to accurately and comprehensively cover the financial tracks of an entire program. Moreover, the sorting and tagging functions within the materials are rudimentary at best.
Read the full article from Defense News.
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
