IT’S FINALLY HERE: After the teaser trailer that was President Trump’s “skinny budget” blueprint in mid-March, the administration released the full spending plan for fiscal 2018 today.
THE TOPLINE: As was widely reported, the request includes $574.5 billion for baseline Defense Department funding, $29 billion in other national defense (Energy Department nuclear activities, etc.) and $64.6 for overseas contingency operations. The $603 billion national defense baseline (minus OCO) is $18.5 billion higher than Obama’s projection and $54 billion higher than the Budget Control Act budget caps. We made a handy cheat sheet here.
John Roth, acting DoD comptroller, called the budget a “significant increased commitment” by the Trump administration over the current year’s $523 billion base budget and said the department built a plan it believes can be passed by Congress.
“A lot of the reaction we’ve gotten so far with our meetings with some of the [Congress] members is, ‘Why didn’t you ask for more?’ ” Roth said. “So we will have to see. Obviously, it is going to take a lot in Congress, in both the House and Senate to try to get it done and we are here to help in any way we can.”
Good Tuesday evening and welcome to this special budget edition of Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24).
And now for the goodies.
THE WHITE HOUSE’S TAKE: Trump’s first budget request would stake out a radically different path from the past budgets set out by former President Barack Obama, but it also makes a key departure from budgets that Republicans have proposed, Joe Lawler writes. One of the biggest differences between the Trump budget and the prior Obama budgets is that Trump’s plan would balance the budget in 10 years, just as some House Republican plans have done.
Trump’s budget was written “through the eyes of people who are actually paying the taxes,” said Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney Monday, suggesting that it hasn’t been done that way in recent years. It would call for major reductions in safety net spending and on a wide range of government programs. Obama’s fiscal year 2017 budget, on the other hand, was meant “to replace mindless austerity with smart investments that strengthen America,” Obama said at the time it was unveiled. While it contemplated new spending for infrastructure, child care programs and education, it would have never balanced. In protest, the Republican chairmen of the budget committees refused to even call the traditional hearings with Obama’s budget director.
REACTION ON THE HILL: As expected, not good. Sen. John McCain kicked off criticism Tuesday of Trump’s first defense budget by calling it “dead on arrival” in Congress, but he was soon joined by key Republican lawmakers in the House. Three subcommittee chairman on the House Armed Services Committee said the president’s proposed $574.5 billion Defense Department budget — a total of $603 billion in total baseline defense spending — will not cover his promises of an historic military buildup.
“This budget request will not be enough to do what he has said is needed to improve military capabilities and readiness,” said Rep. Mike Turner, the chairman of the Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee. “After years of underfunding and failed assumptions by the Obama Administration, these increases aren’t enough to begin the process to reverse the damage that has been done to our military.”
Turner along with Reps. Rob Wittman and Joe Wilson, said they are supporting the proposal by McCain and Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Armed Services committee chairman, for $640 billion in total baseline defense spending for 2018.
SHIPS AND PLANES MOSTLY LINE UP WITH OBAMA’S PLANS: The budget includes money for many big-ticket weapons, including more pricey F-35 fighter jets, but it’s also roughly in line with the procurement plans laid out under the Obama, according to Pentagon officials. Totals for Lockheed Martin F-35s and the eight ships planned for the Navy line up.
“For the most part, this continues the momentum building the force as we go forward,” Roth said.
ARMY TROOP LEVEL FLAT: The administration has proposed no additions for the 476,000 active-duty Army authorized by Congress last year, though the other services could see an overall increase of nearly 6,000 troops.
The Air Force would get nearly 4,000 more airmen for a total of 325,100, the Navy could gain 1,400 sailors for a total of 327,900, and there would be an increase of 574 Marines for a total of 185,000.
PAY RAISE: Trump wants to give the nation’s troops another pay raise not long after their first full jump in pay in years. The budget released Tuesday would provide all service members the same 2.1 percent raise in 2018 that was recently approved by Congress for the current year. Defense Department civilians would get a 1.9 percent raise, the same as other federal employees.
The 2.1 percent military raise is mandated by law to keep up with increases in pay in the private sector, but Obama ordered smaller increases for five consecutive years.
NATO PLOY: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wants to cut U.S. spending as a way to pressure NATO allies to increase their defense spending obligations, as detailed in the new State Department budget request, Joel Gehrke writes. “The U.S. will restore leadership and influence by upholding U.S. commitments to key partners and allies that advances shared interests, including NATO,” Tillerson wrote in a letter explaining his team’s budget request.
“The FY 2018 request includes reductions in anticipation that allied nations will provide a more equitable cost-share. It will eliminate or reduce payments to ineffective or inefficient organizations and only fund a portion of the U.S. share of assessed expenses for those UN peacekeeping operations that have proven their overall effectiveness in advancing our national interests.”
MORE CLOSURES? The defense budget request will push for a new round of military base closures across the country, a priority that has eluded the Pentagon under the prior administration. Roth said the department has seen signals from Congress that it might be more willing now to allow the shuttering of unused military facilities under the base realignment and closure process.
The department wants authority from Congress to begin analysis of potential closures that would begin in 2021. Roth said it has an estimated 20 percent excess capacity and could save $2 billion per year by closing those unneeded facilities.
THE WALL: Trump’s request calls for the construction of “a physical wall” on the Mexican border, a recommitment to a top campaign promise, Joe Lawler writes. The budget proposal calls for a $2.6 billion investment in border security, including “funding to plan, design and construct a physical wall along the southern border.”
“This investment would strengthen border security, helping stem the flow of people, drugs, and other illicit material illegally crossing the border,” the document reads.
DUDE, WHERE’S MY FYDP? Despite Trump’s repeated promises to rapidly rebuild the U.S. military over his term in office, the Pentagon currently has no long-term plan to fund the build-up past the next budget year, which begins in October. In most years, the Defense Department submits a five-year plan, called the Future Years Defense Program or FYDP, to Congress, along with the next year’s budget. Pentagon officials explained they had to scramble just to get the budget together for the coming year, and have had no time to plan for the “out years.”
That’s because this year, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who is still lacking dozens of high-level appointees including a Navy and Air Force secretary, had no resources to plan that far ahead. “The secretary has not spent any time at all looking at anything beyond FY ’18 to date,” Roth said.
THAT ABOUT DOES IT: Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed this special budget edition of Daily on Defense. We’ll see you in 12 hours when our regular edition hits your inbox. And for the latest national security news, check us out here. Have a great evening!
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | MAY 24
1800 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Breakfast keynote by Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs. navyleague.org
9:30 a.m. Russell 232-A. Industry perspectives from Brian Cuccias of Huntington Ingalls, John Casey of General Dynamics, and Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council Of America, on options and considerations for achieving a 355-ship Navy. armed-services.senate.gov
9:30 a.m. Rayburn 2154. Oversight of the FBI’s independence. oversight.house.gov
10 a.m. House 140. Testimony from Gen. Joseph Lengyel, commander of the National Guard Bureau, and the chiefs of the reserve military forces. appropriations.house.gov
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Russian military of 2035. csis.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. Border insecurity with the rise of MS-13 and other transnational criminal organizations. hsgac.senate.gov
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 192. Review of the 2018 budget for the Navy and Marine Corps with acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley and Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations. appropriations.senate.gov
11 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Examining the strategic implications of Trump’s first budget. stimson.org
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The threats and challenges of the South Caucasus region for the Trump administration. heritage.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Navy fiscal 2018 budget request for seapower and projection forces. armedservices.house.gov
2 p.m. Hart 216. The Kremlin’s gas games in Europe and the implications for policy makers, with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. atlanticcouncil.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Nuclear deal fallout and the global threat of Iran. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Dirksen G-50. Department of Energy atomic defense activities and programs with Frank Klotz, under secretary for nuclear security. armed-services.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Ground force modernization budget request with Army and Marine Corps officials. armedservices.house.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 25
8 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Air Force FY 2018 budget request for seapower and projection forces with Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, and Lt. Gen. Mark Nowland. armedservices.house.gov
8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. A discussion about nuclear modernization and strategic stability with Gen. Stephen Wilson, Air Force vice chief of staff. mitchellaerospacepower.org
8 a.m. 7940 Jones Branch Dr. OPNAV N4 Supply Chain Risk workshop. ndia.org
9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Report launch on why Africa matters to U.S. national security. atlanticcouncil.org
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Countering Coercion in Maritime Asia with Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations. csis.org
9 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Rep. Adam Kinzinger about the way forward in Afghanistan, America’s longest war. wilsoncenter.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Posture of the Army with Gen. Mark Milley. armed-service.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Fiscal 2018 priorities for nuclear forces and atomic energy defense with Gen. Robin Rand, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, and Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, director of Navy Strategic Systems Program. armedservices.house.gov
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 138. Review of the 2018 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security with Secretary John Kelly. appropriations.senate.gov
TUESDAY | MAY 30
5:30 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The future of Iranian power in the Middle East with Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Trask, U.S. Special Operations Command, and retired Vice Adm. Mark Fox. aei.org
