Pentagon Watchdog Group Assesses Senate Budget Proposal

Notes Important Trends in Future Military Spending

Washington, D.C. -- Last week, in the first round of this year's Congressional debate on future spending, Senate Budget Chairman Pete Domenici released his committee's funding plan. The Center for Defense Information (CDI), an independent non-profit organization which monitors Pentagon spending and policy, responded today to the military portion of the budget proposal, noting some positive signs of Congressional interest in controlling future Pentagon expenditures.

"It's a more realistic proposal than we've seen from Congress in recent years," said Vice Admiral (Ret.) John J. Shanahan, Director of CDI. "The additions to the President's request are more modest than in the past. And unlike the Administration's military budget, which goes up every year, it doesn't assume that funds will be available for significant increases in the future."

The budget resolution, which sets overall spending caps on Congressional appropriations, was introduced with little fanfare by Senator Domenici on March 20. It would add only slightly to the Administration's request over the next two years, and then make progressively deeper reductions from the Clinton plan beginning in Fiscal Year 2000. The House Budget Committee has not yet released its spending figures.

"This budget should serve as a wake-up call to Pentagon and government officials looking to fund costly new weapons systems," said Rear Admiral (Ret.) Eugene J. Carroll, Jr., CDI's Deputy Director. "We have consistently warned about the spending "bow wave" which these new systems will cause. The money simply isn't going to be there, and the services are going to have to start making some tough choices. Something has to go."

In the last two years, Congress has added nearly $18 billion to the Administration's spending requests. Much of this additional money has gone into purchasing unrequested weapon systems. "More spending doesn't mean more security," remarked Admiral Shanahan. "Buying unneeded weapons puts pressure on other parts of the military budget. It degrades troop readiness and delays important upgrades and repairs to equipment and facilities. The Senate has sent a clear signal to the Pentagon to set more realistic priorities."

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Note: A fact sheet prepared by the Center for Defense Information on the Senate budget plan and the Administration's funding request is attached.

Center for Defense Information

1500 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20005(202) 862-0700Fax: (202) 862-0708

The Domenici Plan for Future Military Spending

The Senate Budget Resolution, introduced on March 20, 1997 by Senator Pete Domenici, Chairman of the Budget Committee, laid out the following plan for military spending through the year 2002. The Clinton Administration's request, released on February 6, is included for comparison.

Pentagon Budget (050) - Budget Authority (Billions of Dollars)
Fiscal Year	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	Total*
Clinton Administration	262.3	265.3	269.2	275.0	281.5	289.1	1,380.1
Senate Resolution	--	268.0	270.6	273.3	275.9	278.7	1,366.5
Difference		+2.7	+1.4	-1.7	-5.6	-10.4	-13.6

Pentagon Budget (050) - Outlays (Billions of Dollars)
Fiscal Year	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	Total*
Clinton Administration	267.2	259.4	261.4	267.2	268.0	273.2	1,329.2
Senate Resolution	--	262.5	265.4	269.3	268.7	269.1	1,335.0
Difference		+3.1	+4.0	+2.1	+0.7	-4.1	+5.8

Budget Authority is congressional approval to spend money in current or future years. Usually, not all of the Budget Authority funds appropriated for a fiscal year are spent in that year. Outlays represent actual funds spent in a fiscal year and may include unspent funds appropriated in previous years.

*Note: Totals are for Fiscal Years 1998-2002. Totals may not add up do to rounding.

Source: Senate Budget Resolution

Prepared by Chris Hellman, Senior Research Analyst, March 25, 1997.