The Air Force has been consistently underfunded because of the inclusion of “pass-through” funding in its budget. The pass-through funding for intelligence (“black”) programs masks Air Force budget shortfalls required for vital capabilities and modernization. Congress must make the budget change because the Army, Navy, and Marines benefit from a skewed budget.
One victim of underfunding the Air Force is Global Hawk surveillance drones. The proposed 2021 defense budget plans to retire and divest 24 of 34 Global Hawks assigned to the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. This hits both close to home and the nation.
North Dakota’s two senators (both Republicans) are in a position to help solve the pass-through funding problem. Sen. Kevin Cramer sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which authorizes the defense budget. Sen. John Hoeven sits on the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, which funds the budget. They care about defense and the Global Hawk mission that provides the essential intelligence on what our adversaries are doing to protect our military personnel. They are well-respected by senate colleagues and the Air Force.
A myth persists inside and outside the Pentagon that the three services “equally share” the defense budget. Not true. In reality, the Air Force’s budget is significantly smaller, even if it leads every conflict because it must secure the air space so the other services can do their jobs.
The Air Force’s budget includes $38 billion in pass-through funds (20% of its total budget) that will never be seen, used, or controlled by the Air Force. That is 6% of the total defense budget, twice as much as what it takes to operate the Space Force, the newest service.
In other words, the pass-through budget is a barrier to aligning resources for the National Defense Strategy by artificially increasing the Air Force’s top line — making it look like the Air Force is more well-funded than it really is. It also hinders congressional oversight and good governance, accountability, and transparency.
As Congress expects a clean Pentagon audit, it should support every effort to increase transparency. Congress must have the ability to understand what is being spent and why. It is not the Air Force’s responsibility to foot the bill, if only on paper, for capabilities it does not directly control.
Much like the Navy and Marine Corp. budgets, it is expected that the Air Force and Space Force will soon have separate budgets. But that pesky pass-through money must be separated from the Air Force budget to ensure an accurate understanding of actual resource allocation. No other service has a similar albatross weighing down its budget, weighing down perceptions about its budget, or making the budget seem larger than it is. Adding to the challenge is the fact that most or all of the black programs and activities funded by the pass-through are classified, so no one can talk about them in media or public congressional testimony.
There is a bipartisan agreement to cap total funding for defense and a mandate that the 2021 defense budget start to meet the objectives of the National Defense Strategy. The Air Force budget is too small to pay for the necessary capabilities and capacity to deter or defeat the challenges from the major power rivals China and Russia, as well as challenges posed by Iran, North Korea, and global terrorism. As the National Defense Strategy Commission said, “Regardless of where the next conflict occurs or which adversary it features, the Air Force will be at the forefront.”
To fund new capabilities, the Air Force was asked to cut existing capabilities it still needs — for example, cutting 24 of the 34 Global Hawks at Grand Forks. The Global Hawks are in high demand in the Middle East, Pacific, Europe, and Africa to watch adversaries and to protect our troops. This is a no-win choice.
Skeptics in Congress will want to see hard data proving there are benefits to divesting the Global Hawks. The budget says nothing about the space and intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance assets that might replace Global Hawks — which are still a requirement. And the Air Force will be called to defend why it is getting rid of these highly used assets instead of the aging U-2 spy planes. Equitable funding for Air Force would save the Global Hawk capability.
The opportunity to clean up this long-standing pass-through practice seems possible. Let us hope that we have seen the last Air Force budget weighed down by the albatross of pass-through funding.
Bruce Gjovig is active with the Grand Forks AFB Retention Impact Committee and was appointed to the USAF Civic Leaders Program by the USAF Chief of Staff serving since January 2016.
