Over the next few months, Congress will be considering Administration requests for more than half a trillion dollars for national defense, including money in the regular defense budget for Fiscal Year 2006 (FY2006), supplemental appropriations for costs of ongoing military operations in FY2005, and, possibly, additional funds in FY2006 to provide a bridge until future supplemental appropriations for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are available. The Administration's defense budget plans face some potentially daunting, though by no means unprecedented, long-term challenges, including: (1) Will projected budget deficits constrain the Administration's longterm defense budget plans; (2) Should Congress try to restrain further increases in military personnel pay and benefits, as some Administration officials have argued, in view of dramatic increases in personnel costs in recent years; (3) What are the implications of continuing, perennial increases in defense operation and maintenance costs for the affordability of the Administration's plan; (4) How affordable is the Administration's long-term plan for modernizing military forces in light of substantial and continuing cost growth in many systems; (5) How might recent widely discussed changes in defense strategy affect priorities within the defense budget. This report reviews long-term trends in the defense budget and discusses the challenges Congress and the Defense Department may face in trying to adjust plans in the face of fiscal constraints. It will be updated periodically to reflect congressional action and new information.
Defense Budget: Long-Term Challenges for FY2006 and Beyond
2005
22 pages
Report
No indication
English
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