Statement of Robert F. Hale, Assistant Director, National Security Division, Congressional Budget Office
Abstract
Madam Chairwoman and members of the Defense Burdensharing Panel, I am pleased to appear today to discuss some of the issues surrounding defense burdensharing. I will first discuss various measures of the defense burden. Those measures generally show that, relative to its economic strength, the United States is doing more to contribute to the common defense than most of its allies. Next, I will discuss possible actions the United States and its allies might take to reduce the cost of U.S. defense commitments. I should note that, by themselves, the quantitative measures of burdensharing presented in my testimony are not an adequate basis for judging what degree of burdensharing would be fair. That judgment is a political one that must weigh not only the contributions to allied defense, which is what I can measure for you, but also the benefits realized by the United States and its allies, which cannot be reliably quantified. For this reason I will leave to others the task of judging. I will first review and explain the quantitative indicators of burdensharing and then discuss options for altering the sharing of defense costs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 10, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA529875
Entities
People
- Robert F. Hale
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office