{"id":35388,"date":"2019-12-07T20:24:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-07T20:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/07\/esper-points-to-5-billion-in-night-court-cuts\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:35:11","slug":"esper-points-to-5-billion-in-night-court-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/it-networks\/defense-budget\/2019\/12\/07\/esper-points-to-5-billion-in-night-court-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Esper points to $5 billion in \u2018night court\u2019 savings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SIMI VALLEY, California \u2014 The Pentagon has saved $5 billion through cuts to the departmentwide offices known as the \u201cfourth estate,\u201d Defense Department Secretary Mark Esper said during a keynote address at the Reagan National Defense Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The savings were identified following a review <\/a>initiated by Esper in August, soon after his confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithin the department we are implementing aggressive reforms to free up time, money and manpower to put back into our highest priorities,\u201d Esper said. \u201cIn just four months of work we have saved over $5 billion. By decreasing overhead, divesting legacy activities and reducing lower-priority programs, we are able to invest more in the war-fighting requirements of the services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The so-called fourth estate<\/a> includes 27 agencies, such as the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Missile Defense Agency. A September 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office<\/a> estimated those agencies collectively have an annual budget of at least $106 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esper did note that the savings can only be realized with support from Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t do this without the backing of Congress,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen our budget comes to the Hill next year, I ask you to support our proposals and enact the legislative changes needed to get these reforms across the finish line. And to be clear, this is just the beginning.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t