Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Senate Subcommittee Action on Fiscal Year 2012 Defense Appropriations Bill

by Laicie Olson [contact information]

October 27, 2011

On September 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Defense Appropriations bill. The committee approved $513 billion for the base budget, plus $117.6 billion to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, for a total of $630.6 billion.

In order to meet the federal debt-limit agreement’s FY 2012 cap on security spending (which includes the Pentagon, Veteran Affairs, Homeland Security, and other security-related accounts), the bill freezes the base defense budget at the FY 2011 level, about $26 billion less than requested by the Obama Administration and $17 billion less than approved by the House. In detailing the recommendations put forth in the bill, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) included the following statement:

While this was not an easy allocation to meet, I can assure you that that this recommendation takes care of our men and women in uniform and their families, fully supports military readiness, protects the forces, and maintains our technological edge.

[snip]

While some have publicly stated that we could not meet our allocation without sacrificing military readiness, I can assure you that the Vice Chairman and I have taken extra caution to protect readiness funding in the bill.

Funding Provisions

FY 2012 FUNDING BY FUNCTION (FY 2011 Enacted, FY 2012 Request)
$131.0 billion – Military Personnel ($126.7 billion, $132.1 billion)
$162.5 billion – Operations & Maintenance ($165.6 billion, $170.8 billion)
$102.1 billion – Procurement ($102.1 billion, $111.2 billion)
$71.0 billion – RDT&E ($75.0 billion, $75.3 billion)
$2.3 billion – Revolving & Management Funds ($2.9 billion, $2.7 billion)
$35.6 billion – Other Department of Defense Programs ($34.3 billion, $35.5 billion)
$1.1 billion – Related Agencies ($942 million, $1.1 billion)
-$2.9 billion – General Provisions (-$5.1 billion, $29 million)
$117.5 billion – Overseas Contingency Operations ($157.7 billion, $117.7 billion)
$620.2 billion – NET TOTAL ($660.1 billion, $646.4 billion)

$630.6 billion – TOTAL DISCRETIONARY* ($670.8 billion, $656.8 billion)

*Total includes “scorekeeping adjustments” for non-emergency and overseas contingency operations appropriations.

Additions

The bill includes a 1.6 percent pay raise for military personnel and adds $255 million over the requested amount to cover shortfalls in military personnel accounts requested by the Services. Increases in funding include $36 million in corrosion mitigation, a significant increase over the requested $3.2 million. The Committee notes that in its annual report to Congress on Department of Defense Corrosion programs, submitted in March, the Department identified a FY 2012 requirement of $43 million. “According to the Government Accountability Office,” states the Committee report, “failure to fund this budget shortfall could result in passing up additional cost avoidance of up to $721 million.”

The bill also contains an additional $120 million for the advance procurement of 12 Lockheed Martin C-130Js, planned to be purchased in 2013.

Reductions

There are nearly 600 line-item reductions in the bill, but not every reduction is as it seems. The committee chose to transfer $10 billion from the Pentagon’s base budget to the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, which includes funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, thereby putting it outside the spending cap imposed by the deficit reduction law.

While the bill fully funds the $117 billion OCO request, the panel cut war funding to reflect the fact that there will be 33,000 fewer U.S. forces in Afghanistan by the end of 2012. The committee also concluded that the Army had overestimated its transportation and reset costs by $2 billion. But rather than reduce the actual appropriation for OCO, the committee included $10 billion in procurement and operations and maintenance spending from the base budget. In any other year, this spending would have remained in the portion of the bill now subject to a spending cap. Critics have complained that this practice is an example of how the “overseas contingency operations” fund could be used as a shelter for defense spending now and into the future. Program terminations and reductions include a $135 million reduction from the tanker replacement program and a $695 million reduction from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Both reductions reflect existing program delays.

The Senate bill does not include language, contained in the House version, allowing the manufacturers of the F-35 alternate engine to continue their work independently. It is unclear whether that same language will make it into the final FY 2012 defense bill.

Additionally, the bill reduces funding for the F-22 fighter program by $207 million, and cuts $570 million from the Pentagon's $776 million request for the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS).

The committee cut $7.7 million from the Marine Corps’ $2.2 billion request for 30 V-22 Ospreys, but fully funded an $84 million request for advance procurement of future aircraft. It also removed $109 million in post-production costs for the C-17, due to an increase in international orders.

The committee cut all procurement of 48 General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aircraft, stating that the Air Force’s request is early based on current needs. The Air Force's A-10 Warthog wing replacement program also saw its $146 million request denied due to program delays.

The bill terminates the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program “due to excessive cost growth and constantly changing requirements. The Committee believes that alternatives exist today… and supports funding for those programs.”

The committee cut $644 million from the Pentagon's request for the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) and has requested that an analysis of alternatives be completed before the program ramps up any further. The bill would also cut $90 million from the Army's armed helicopter account.

The bill does not fund the Navy's request for an additional Mobile Landing Platform ship since it was already funded in FY 2011 appropriations. A third ship is likely to be funded in FY 2013.

The bill does not provide funding for the Standard Missile SM-3 Block 2B AEGIS interceptor; part of the forward land-based missile defense system the Pentagon plans to position in Europe. The current missile being deployed is the SM-3 Block 1A. In their report, Senate appropriators expressed concern over, “the high concurrency of these developmental efforts, particularly in light of the development issues that have plagued the SM-3 Block 1B missile.” The Block 1B is expected to destroy missiles with ranges of up to 12,000 kilometers in the early stages of flight, but failed in its first intercept test on September 1.

The committee also cut $540 million requested for the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) program, and $69 million from the Pentagon's $188 million request for Raytheon Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) missiles. The bill trims funding for the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by $162 million, to $671 million, and provides no funding for the Airborne Infrared (ABIR) system, designed to detect ballistic missiles from aircraft.

Full Funding

The committee fully funded the DDG 1000, Littoral Combat Ship.

The committee also provided full funding for the Pentagon’s planned replacement of the nuclear triad, including requested funding for the next generation bomber, nuclear submarine, and a study on a follow-on missile for the Minuteman III ICBM. The Pentagon estimates the total cost of building and operating the new SSBN(X) submarine force at nearly $350 billion over its 50-year lifespan. It also plans to spend $55 billion on procurement of 100 bombers. The total cost of a new intercontinental ballistic missile is unknown. The Nunn-Lugar non-proliferation program received full funding of $508 million.

The bill includes $8.6 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, including full funding for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), a program that some other congressional committees, including the Senate Defense Armed Services Committee, would like to see cut. The committee voted in June to zero out the President’s 2012 request of $406.6 million for MEADS.

The bill provides full funding for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, the Missile Defense Agency’s primary U.S. territorial missile shield, and the Space Tracking and Surveillance System. It also adds $130 million to the MDA’s $106 million request for cooperative programs with Israel, including the Arrow interceptor and the David’s Sling weapon system.

It is not clear when the bill will go to the Senate floor.