February 13, 2018
The new defense budget: what you need to know
The budget agreement finally reached by Congress last Friday provides around $700 billion for national defense in fiscal years 2018 and 2019, an allocation in line with President Trump's 2019 budget request, released by the OMB this morning.
Here's what you need to know about that spending:
- The defense budget is big, about the same size as the entire Swiss economy. It consumes over half of discretionary spending, though only about 16 percent of the total budget (including Social Security, Medicare and other programs). But the expenditure is not unreasonable: Not only is the U.S. military the finest fighting force in the world, with over 2 million men and women on active duty or in the National Guard or Reserves, it also has components that are basically a health care company, a global supply chain outfit, and a sizable retail operation.
Read the full article in Axios.
More from CNAS
-
Make Good Choices, DoD
Reports
In a new report, Susanna V. Blume and Molly Parrish offer a deep dive into how the U.S. Department of Defense makes decisions about what the U.S. military needs, what to buy a...
By Susanna V. Blume & Molly Parrish
-
Results of the second Pentagon audit
Video
Bob Hale discusses takeaways from the Department of Defense’s latest audit, and the impacts it’s having on the agency’s culture.Watch the full conversation on Government Matte...
By Robert F. Hale
-
Fireside Chat with The Honorable David L. Norquist
Commentary
On May 30, the Center welcomed The Honorable David L. Norquist for a conversation on the 2020 Defense Budget Request with Susanna V. Blume. Their discussion focused on whether...
By Susanna V. Blume & David L. Norquist
-
Strategy to Ask
Reports
Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan promised a “masterpiece” for 2020. The critical question this report asks is: Has he made good on that promise?...
By Susanna V. Blume
