CommunityEditor
05-07-2009, 08:11 PM
The official unveiling Thursday of the first Obama defense budget launches a familiar fight with Congress over some key personnel programs.
The 2010 budget asks for $663.8 billion, with $533.8 billion for the basic peacetime budget and $130 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan operations, as the Obama administration carries through with a promise to include war funding in the regular budget rather than a supplemental.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the budget “provides the balance necessary to institutionally finance our capabilities to fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years ahead, while at the same time providing a hedge against other risks and contingencies.”
It includes a 2.9 percent pay raise for active and reserve forces, an amount already rejected by the House and Senate armed services committees, who have indicated they will provide a 3.4 percent raise for troops. The raise takes effect Jan. 1, 2010.
Also in the budget is an average 6 percent increase in basic allowance for housing and a 5 percent increase in basic allowance for subsistence.
Defense civilians would get just a 2 percent pay hike under the proposal, although key members of Congress representing congressional districts with large numbers of federal civilians already have vowed to provide civilians the same 2010 raise that will go to the military.
Instead of the Tricare fee increases proposed in the last three Bush budgets, the first Obama defense budget provides $47 billion for military health care and requests no fee increases. However, the Defense Department statement on the budget says defense officials expect “to continue to work with the Congress to look for ways to slow the growth of medical costs while continuing to provide high-quality care.”
As previously announced by Gates, the 2010 budget proposes the termination of the VH-71 presidential helicopter, the CSAR-X Air Force combat search-and-rescue helicopter and the Transformational Satellite Program. It proposes big cuts in the missile defense program, restructuring the Army’s Future Combat System and shifts the Navy to a slower five-year build cycle for aircraft carriers while also delaying the next cruiser, the CG-X.
Defense officials say that the changes are part of an effort to have a realistic budget when considering the cost and production times for weapons systems, and to cancel programs that are either far over budget or providing limited new capabilities.
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., the House Armed Services Committee chairman, said in a statement that his panel is “anxious to examine” the budget.
“In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to ensure that each defense dollar is spent wisely and effectively. While many difficult budget and policy decisions are ahead of us, I believe the $533.8 billion requested for defense is a reasonable level which will allow us to support our troops and keep America safe,” Skelton said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/05/military_2010_budget_050709w/
The 2010 budget asks for $663.8 billion, with $533.8 billion for the basic peacetime budget and $130 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan operations, as the Obama administration carries through with a promise to include war funding in the regular budget rather than a supplemental.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the budget “provides the balance necessary to institutionally finance our capabilities to fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years ahead, while at the same time providing a hedge against other risks and contingencies.”
It includes a 2.9 percent pay raise for active and reserve forces, an amount already rejected by the House and Senate armed services committees, who have indicated they will provide a 3.4 percent raise for troops. The raise takes effect Jan. 1, 2010.
Also in the budget is an average 6 percent increase in basic allowance for housing and a 5 percent increase in basic allowance for subsistence.
Defense civilians would get just a 2 percent pay hike under the proposal, although key members of Congress representing congressional districts with large numbers of federal civilians already have vowed to provide civilians the same 2010 raise that will go to the military.
Instead of the Tricare fee increases proposed in the last three Bush budgets, the first Obama defense budget provides $47 billion for military health care and requests no fee increases. However, the Defense Department statement on the budget says defense officials expect “to continue to work with the Congress to look for ways to slow the growth of medical costs while continuing to provide high-quality care.”
As previously announced by Gates, the 2010 budget proposes the termination of the VH-71 presidential helicopter, the CSAR-X Air Force combat search-and-rescue helicopter and the Transformational Satellite Program. It proposes big cuts in the missile defense program, restructuring the Army’s Future Combat System and shifts the Navy to a slower five-year build cycle for aircraft carriers while also delaying the next cruiser, the CG-X.
Defense officials say that the changes are part of an effort to have a realistic budget when considering the cost and production times for weapons systems, and to cancel programs that are either far over budget or providing limited new capabilities.
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., the House Armed Services Committee chairman, said in a statement that his panel is “anxious to examine” the budget.
“In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to ensure that each defense dollar is spent wisely and effectively. While many difficult budget and policy decisions are ahead of us, I believe the $533.8 billion requested for defense is a reasonable level which will allow us to support our troops and keep America safe,” Skelton said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/05/military_2010_budget_050709w/