A Perfect Storm for Pentagon Reform
Abstract
In each of the past several years, experts have concluded that U.S. defense spending could grow no more. Despite the fact that the defense budget is now at its highest inflation-adjusted level since World War II, this anticipated leveling off has yet to materialize. Lawmakers, presented with war funding requests still labeled "emergency" after 7 years of war, and motivated by a desire to be seen as pro-defense, have been ready and willing to give the Department of Defense (DOD) everything it asks for and more. With the United States suffering through economic conditions not seen since the Great Depression, however, the era of $700 billion annual defense budgets may soon be coming to an end. "Any crisis of this nature is going to affect-must affect-other Federal spending," former chief Pentagon budget official Tina Jonas said about the struggling economy in September 2008. "You cannot look at defense by itself. It is a subset of our macro financial picture." In a much discussed report, the Defense Business Board concluded recently that "business as usual is no longer an option. . . . The current and future fiscal environments facing the [Defense] Department require bold action." Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in September added, "I certainly would expect [defense budget] growth to level off, and my guess would be we'll be fortunate in the years immediately ahead . . . if we were able to stay flat with inflation."
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA515333
Entities
People
- Travis Sharp
Organizations
- National Defense University