Last week, the president unveiled the largest defense base budget request in the history of the Pentagon, blowing right past the sequestration caps. This can only mean one thing: tough choices lie ahead for Congress.
Ash Carter to Defend President’s Budget Cap Busting FY16 Request
Defense Secretary nominee Ashton Carter’s confirmation hearing is set for the first week of February. Coinciding with Carter’s confirmation, on February 2, the president will send Congress his fiscal year 2016 budget request. One of Mr. Carter’s first tasks as Chuck Hagel’s replacement will be to defend the President’s FY 2016 budget request – a document on which Mr. Carter has presumably had little influence.
News Flash: Nuclear Weapons Still Expensive
The Congressional Budget Office’s Report on the Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces has again undercut the tired myth that our current nuclear weapon plans are inexpensive. According to the report, the administration’s plan for modernizing the nuclear triad is expected to cost $348 billion over the next decade, an average of about $35 billion a year. But these costs reflect only the tip of the budgetary iceberg. Reports such as the National Defense Panel Review of the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review and the Trillion Dollar Triad estimate the entire modernization plan will likely cost $1 trillion over the next 30 years.
Washington Post’s Pincus Nails the REAL Nuclear Threat
The United States is headed for trouble, according to Walter Pincus of the Washington Post, in his recent article “War, hot or cold?” The crux of the issue: the U.S. is balancing military spending for two non-complementary styles of war. On the one hand, the U.S. is developing its intelligence and armed forces to fight a “hot war” against terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State; on the other, the U.S. is developing costly weapons programs to ensure superiority in a Cold-War-style standoff with Russia and China. As Pincus is concerned, funding both styles may not be practical or affordable, meaning “Americans have some tough choices ahead.”
“These days, terrorists are the first threat,” says Pincus, “and not a single one will be deterred by a nuclear warhead.”
Front and Center: 12/7 – 12/20
FRONT & CENTER
An update on arms control, national security & politics from the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
