Pentagon Spending on the Chopping Block

[unhappycamper]

Pentagon Spending on the Chopping Block
by Christopher Hellman
Published on Friday, July 16, 2010 by YES! Magazine

The current economic crisis, coupled with concerns about spiraling deficits and our staggering national debt, is, at long last, bringing military spending to the forefront of the budget debate. Not since the end of the Cold War and the discussion of a "peace dividend" has the Pentagon budget-generally considered sacrosanct-received such scrutiny.

In January 2010, President Obama's formed the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to advise the administration on options for addressing the U.S. national debt. In response, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) convened a bi-partisan panel of national security experts to generate a series of recommendations on how to cut the defense budget while preserving U.S. national security. The Sustainable Defense Task Force released its report, "Debt, Deficits and Defense: A Way Forward," on June 11, in Washington, D.C.

The Task Force report does not include any recommendations related to the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It looks only at the Pentagon's annual "base" budget. The report's combined recommendations would cut $960 billion over ten years, an average annual reduction of roughly 17 percent below current spending levels.

The signers will pledge not to support any major deficit reduction package considered by Congress unless it includes defense spending cuts.

Defense spending accounts for more than half of the federal government's entire discretionary budget. At a time when virtually every community in the country is facing critical budget shortfalls, defense spending has continued to grow. While the White House has announced a freeze on all non-security related discretionary spending over the next three years, the Obama Administration's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2011 (which will begin on September 30) includes a two percent increase in the Pentagon's budget. This puts increasing pressure on most domestic spending programs. Over the last decade, total federal discretionary spending has grown by 28 percent and military spending (not including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) by over 40 percent. Meanwhile, federal grants to state and local governments have grown by only 14 percent.