Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

  • Policy Issues
    • Fact Sheets
    • Countries
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Non-Proliferation
    • Nuclear Security
    • Biological & Chemical Weapons
    • Defense Spending
    • Missile Defense
    • No First Use
  • Nukes of Hazard
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Videos
  • Join Us
  • Press
  • About
    • Staff
    • Boards & Experts
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Financials and Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Search
You are here: Home / Security Spending / FY 2018 Defense Budget Request Briefing Book

May 25, 2017

FY 2018 Defense Budget Request Briefing Book

Click here for a PDF version of the briefing book. 

cacnp-logo

The Fiscal Year 2018 Budget in Context

Introduction

President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget requests $574.5 billion for the Defense Department’s annual “base” discretionary budget, which is $58.4 billion higher than FY 17 levels, and $50.6 billion above last year’s request from President Obama. This amount does not include certain other security spending, including funding for nuclear weapons-related work in the Department of Energy. Nor does it include an additional request of $64.6 billion for the Pentagon’s portion of the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account – also referred to as “war funding.” Including all of these accounts, the total national defense discretionary spending request is $667.6 billion (see Table 1). As an uncapped account, the OCO fund is often used to push military spending above the maximum levels allowed by law. On its own, the requested OCO level would represent the fourth largest United States federal agency by budget.

Overseas Contingency Operations

The $64.6 billion request for OCO includes:

  • $45.9 billion for military operations in Afghanistan and training Afghan security forces (Operation Freedom’s Sentinel)
  • $13.0 billion for operations in Iraq and Syria (Operation Inherent Resolve) and anti-terrorism funding and operations against the Islamic State
  • $4.8 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI)
  • $0.9 billion for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund

In addition to the $64.6 billion OCO funding requested for the Pentagon, the Administration is also proposing $12.0 billion for OCO in the State Department/USAID FY 2018 request, a reduction of $7.1 billion compared to FY 2017. The State Department/USAID requested base budget is $25.6 billion, a reduction of $10.1 billion compared to FY 2017. In total, the amount requested for the Department of State and USAID is $37.6 billion, a reduction of approximately $17 billion compared to FY 2017.

Nuclear Modernization and Non-Proliferation

The request increases funding for nuclear weapons refurbishment plans, which aim to overhaul and maintain the entire nuclear arsenal at a cost of up to $1 trillion over 30 years. This plan includes funding for a new long-range bomber, a new nuclear-capable cruise missile, a new ballistic missile submarine program, an updated land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and their associated warheads. Actualizing these plans will likely result in decreased funding for conventional military capabilities.

The budget also proposes a $90 million cut to the Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation account compared to the amount enacted last year. These cuts include a $30 million reduction of the Global Material Security program, which works to reduce and protect vulnerable nuclear and radiological material located around the globe, and a further $24 million cut for non-proliferation research and development.

The President’s Request

Table 1: Discretionary Defense Request for Fiscal Year 2018

(in billions of current dollars)

FY 2017 Enacted: FY 2018 Funding Request: Allocated to:
516.1 574.5 Department of Defense Base Budget (051)
82.4 64.6 Overseas Contingency Operations (War Funding)
19.7 20.6 Defense Related Activities at DOE (053)
8.2 7.9 Other Defense Related Funding (054)
626.4 667.6 Total National Defense Spending Request (050)

 

Time Period FY Enacted:

National Defense Spending:

(in billions of 2009 dollars*)

 

World War II 1945 994
Korean War Peak Spending 1953 532
Vietnam War Peak Spending 1968 524
Peak 1980’s Buildup Spending 1988 533
Proposed Current Spending 2018 564

*Provided by the Office of Management and Budget

Table 3: Fiscal Year 2018 Base + OCO Discretionary Defense Request by Function

(in billions of current dollars)

FY 2017 Enacted**: FY 2018 Funding Request: Allocated to: Delta FY17-FY18 FY17 % FY18 %
138.9 146.0 Military Personnel +7.1 23.7% 22.8%
249.1 271.9 Operations & Maintenance +22.8 42.5% 42.5%
119.7 125.2 Procurement +5.5 20.4% 19.6%
69.9 83.3 Research and Development (RDT&E) +13.4 11.9% 13.0%
7.9 10.4 Construction/Family Housing +2.5 1.3% 1.6%
1.3 2.2 Revolving & Management Funds +0.9 0.2% 0.3%
586.8 639.1 Total* +52.3 100% 100%

*May not add up due to rounding

**Numbers provided by the Pentagon. Omnibus appropriations adopted in May 2017 may not be included.

Table 4: Fiscal Year 2018 Base + OCO Discretionary Defense Request by Service

(in billions of current dollars)

FY 2017 Enacted**: FY 2018 Funding Request: Allocated to: Delta FY17-FY18 FY17 % FY18 %
151.1 166.0 Army +14.9 25.7% 26.0%
168.9 180.0 Navy +11.1 28.8% 28.2%
163.6 183.0 Air Force +19.4 28.1% 28.6%
103.1 110.1 Defense-Wide +7.0 17.6% 17.2%
586.7 639.1 Total* +52.4 100% 100%

*May not add up due to rounding

**Numbers provided by the Pentagon. Omnibus appropriations adopted in May 2017 may not be included.

Nuclear Weapons and Non-Proliferation

Table 5: Fiscal Year 2018 Request for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

(in billions of current dollars)

FY 2017 Enacted: FY 2018 Funding Request: Allocated to:
1.88 1.79 Nuclear Non-Proliferation
9.25 10.24 Weapons Activities
0.39 0.42 Federal Salaries and Expenses
1.42 1.48 Naval Reactors
12.94 13.93 Total NNSA Request*

*May not add up due to rounding

Table 6: Fiscal Year 2018 Request for Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation

*May not add up due to rounding

(in millions of current dollars)

FY 2017 Enacted FY 2018 Funding Request: Allocated to:
367.1 337.1 Global Material Security
288.4 332.1 Material Management and Minimization
335 279.0 Non-Proliferation Construction
124.7 129.7 Non-Proliferation and Arms Control
469.8 446.1 Non-Proliferation Research and Development
271.9 277.4 Nuclear Counterterrorism and Incident Response Program
83.2 40.5 Legacy Contractor Pensions
-57.2 -49 Prior Year Balance
1,882.9 1,793.3 Total Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation Request*

*May not add up due to rounding

Table 7: Review of Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation Funding Over Last Five Years

FY14 Enacted FY15 Enacted FY16 Enacted FY17

Enacted

FY18

Requested

FY18 vs. FY17
Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation $1.95 billion $1.62 billion $1.94 billion $1.88 billion $1.79

billion

– $90 million
Core Non-Proliferation Programs* $1.51 billion $1.27 billion $1.36 billion $1.25 billion $1.245

billion

– $5 million

*Includes Global Material Security, Material Management and Minimization, Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D.

State Department and Foreign Operations

Table 8: State Department/ Diplomatic Total Funding

In Billion ($)

FY 16 Actual FY 17 Estimate * FY18 Request
State Department/USAID 51.1 54.9 37.6

*Number provided in President’s FY18 Request.

Table 9: State Department – Key Department Funding

In Millions ($)

FY 16 Actual FY17 Estimate * FY18 Request
Peacekeeping Operations 600.6 650.4 301.4
International Security & Nonproliferation (ISN) 45.5 45.1 42.2
Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance (AVC) 31.7 31.8 30.6
Political-Military Affairs 47.5 47.1 45.7

*Number provided in President’s FY18 Request.

Table 10: State Department – Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs

In Millions ($)

FY16 Actual FY 17 Appropriation FY18 Request
Global Threat Reduction 70.0 70.0 65.1
IAEA Voluntary Contribution 88.0 94.8 91.9
Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund 30.0 30.0 5.0
Terrorist Interdiction Program 26.2 33.0 36.0

Table 11: State Department/ USAID – Select Eliminated Programs

In Millions ($)

FY 16 Actual FY17 Estimate FY18 Request
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 1,197.1 1,194.9 0
Asian Development Fund 105.0 104.8 0
Clean Technology Fund 170.9 170.4 0
Strategic Climate Fund 59.6 59.5 0
Global Agriculture and Food Security Program 43.0 42.9 0
U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) 50.0 49.9 0

Table 12: Request for Fiscal Year 2018 Selected Nuclear Weapons

(in millions of current dollars)

FY 2017 Appropriated: FY 2018 Funding Request: Allocated to:
1,338.3 2,000 Long Range Strike Bomber*
1,687.6** 1,884.5 Ohio Submarine Replacement Program (Columbia Class)
616.1 788.6 B61 Life Extension Program
1,222.6 1,270 Trident II Ballistic Missile Modifications
113.9 215.7 Ground Based Strategic Deterrent
95.6 451.3 Long-Range Standoff Weapon
220.3 399.1 W80-4 Life Extension Program
222.9 224.1 W76-1 Nuclear Life Extension Program
281.1 332.3 W88 Nuclear Alteration Program

 

*Long range strike bomber will serve both conventional and nuclear missions
**Does not represent total appropriation, some R&D not included

 

Posted in: Factsheets & Analysis on Pentagon Budget, Nuclear Weapons Spending, Pentagon Budget, Security Spending, United States

Tweets by Nukes of Hazard

Recent Posts

  • Next Up – It’s Your Turn  March 27, 2023
  • Germany walks fine line on nuclear weapons March 24, 2023
  • Russia-Ukraine War Threatens to Trigger New Nuclear Arms Race March 22, 2023
  • A Major Clue to COVID’s Origins Is Just Out of Reach March 21, 2023
  • Growing number of high-security pathogen labs around world raises concerns March 17, 2023
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

820 1st Street NE, Suite LL-180
Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: 202.546.0795

Issues

  • Fact Sheets
  • Countries
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Non-Proliferation
  • Nuclear Security
  • Defense Spending
  • Biological and Chemical Weapons
  • Missile Defense
  • No First Use

Countries

  • China
  • France
  • India and Pakistan
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • North Korea
  • Russia
  • United Kingdom

Explore

  • Nukes of Hazard blog
  • Nukes of Hazard podcast
  • Nukes of Hazard videos
  • Front and Center
  • Fact Sheets

About

  • About
  • Meet the Staff
  • Boards & Experts
  • Press
  • Jobs & Internships
  • Financials and Annual Reports
  • Contact Us
  • Council for a Livable World
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

© 2023 Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Privacy Policy

Charity Navigator GuideStar Seal of Transparency