Options for a Responsible Defense Budget

Congress is considering the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this month. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a bill authorizing $740.5 billion for FY 2021 by a vote of 15-2 on June 11, 2020. So far, 748 amendments have been proposed for the floor.

The House Armed Services Committee held a full committee markup on July 1, 2020, and ordered its version of the NDAA reported by a vote of 56-0. The full House is expected to consider it in late July. With an amendment deadline of the afternoon of Monday, July 13, 41 amendments have been filed so far.

As lawmakers are set to debate different aspects of each version of the NDAA, this post includes related resources with an emphasis on potential savings options. Defense spending increases have contributed to growing deficits but are not the main drivers. Even so, the United States has spent trillions on wars in recent decades, and defense spending is historically high.

Public Sector

• Budget Options for National Defense – Congressional Budget Office
• High Risk List – Government Accountability Office
• Countering Overseas Threats – Government Accountability Office
• DOD Approach to Business Transformation – Government Accountability Office
• DOD Contract Management – Government Accountability Office
• DOD Financial Management – Government Accountability Office
• DOD Support Infrastructure Management – Government Accountability Office
• DOD Weapon Systems Acquisition – Government Accountability Office
• Military Base Realignments and Closures – Government Accountability Office
• Leading Practices in Acquisition Management – Government Accountability Office
• Defense spending cuts proposed by Rep. Barbara Lee and other House Progressive members – Congressional Progressive Caucus Members (June 2020)
• A Progressive Path Forward: The People’s Budget – Congressional Progressive Caucus Members (July 2019)
• Strengthening America & Countering Global Threats – Republican Study Committee National Security & Foreign Affairs Task Force (June 2020)
• Preserving American Freedom: RSC FY2020 Budget – Republican Study Committee Budget & Spending Task Force (May 2019)
• FY 2021 Annual Performance Plan & FY 2019 Annual Performance Report – Department of Defense Chief Management Officer (January 2020)
• Department of Defense Agency Financial Report FY 2019 – Department of Defense Deputy Chief Financial Officer (November 2019)
• Transforming DoD's Core Business Process for Revolutionary Change – Defense Business Board (January 2015)
• Final Report – Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (January 2015)

Private Sector

• U.S. Nuclear Excess: Understanding the Costs, Risks, and Alternatives – Arms Control Association (April 2020)
• Protecting America while promoting efficiencies and accountability – American Enterprise Institute (May 2018)
• Quality Over Quantity: U.S. Military Strategy and Spending in the Trump Years – Brookings Institution (January 2019)
• A Moderate Plan for Additional Defense Budget Cuts – Brookings Institution (February 2013)
• The Growth of the “Camo Economy” and the Commercialization of the Post-9/11 Wars – Brown University Cost of War Project (June 2020)
• Building a Modern Military: The Force Meets Geopolitical Realities – Cato Institute (May 2020)
• Our Foreign Policy Choices: Rethinking America’s Global Role – Cato Institute (July 2016)
• The Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2021 Budget More Than Meets U.S. National Security Needs – Center for American Progress (May 2020)
• Sustainable Defense: More Security, Less Spending – Center for International Policy Sustainable Defense Task Force (June 2019)
• Did Dollars Follow Strategy? A Review of the FY 2020 Defense Budget – Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (August 2019)
• Joint Think Tank Exercise: Alternative Defense Strategies – Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (November 2016)
• What to Look for in the FY 2021 Defense Budget Request – Center for Strategic and International Studies (February 2020)
• The Military Spending Debate – Charles Koch Institute (November 2019)
• Restraint: A Post-COVID-19 U.S. National Security Strategy – Defense Priorities (May 2020)
• Blueprint for Balance - Defense – Heritage Foundation (May 2019)
• Pragmatism, Populism, and How Americans Think About Investing in Defense – Heritage Foundation (October 2019)
• 2020 Military Strength Index – Heritage Foundation (October 2019)
• Reforming the OCO Account – National Taxpayers Union (May 2020)
• Rethinking Post-Coronavirus Threats – Project on Government Oversight (April 2020)
• SIPRI Military Expenditure Database – Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
• The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act – Taxpayers for Common Sense (June 2020)