{"id":23476,"date":"2019-03-12T16:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T16:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/12\/heres-the-breakdown-of-the-pentagons-budget-request\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:02:15","slug":"heres-the-breakdown-of-the-pentagons-budget-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/federal-budget\/2019\/03\/12\/heres-the-breakdown-of-the-pentagons-budget-request\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s the breakdown of the Pentagon\u2019s budget request"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jeff Martin breaks down five things that Defense News learned from the Pentagon’s fiscal 2020 defense budget request.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Pentagon\u2019s fiscal 2020 budget request<\/a> includes increases in research and development, a cut to science and technology, and major investments geared toward the much-ballyhooed return to great power competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has repeatedly referred<\/a> to the FY20 budget as the \u201cmasterpiece\u201d document that has been shaped by conclusions based on a series of long-term strategies including the National Defense Strategy<\/a>, the Nuclear Posture Review<\/a> and the Missile Defense Review<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with Congress already expressing skepticism about the budget proposal, due in part to its reliance on $164 billion in overseas contingency operations<\/a>, or OCO, funding, the department\u2019s \u201cmasterpiece\u201d may be in trouble before it gets out of the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inclusion of $9.2 billion in \u201cemergency\u201d funding \u2014 which officials confirm will be used to backfill military construction dollars taken from FY19 appropriations to build a wall on the southern border, as well as build new construction along that border \u2014 only complicates matters<\/a>. Up to $3.6 billion of that emergency funding is being eyed to backfill those costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for more coverage of the FY2020 budget request.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about whether the budget was dead on arrival, a senior defense official said the inclusion of the emergency fund and the amount of OCO funding was done with guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, and the official expressed hope Congress would work with the department going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the department is looking at our budget, as is mentioned, we\u2019re looking at it as a whole. This is the budget that we need to accomplish the National Defense Strategy,” the official said. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve done is try to provide as much transparency as possible so that we can work in partnership with Congress on having them understand what\u2019s where and they can do their important oversight role based on the information we give them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the budget \u2014 $750 billion in total for national security, with $718 billion of that going directly to the Pentagon \u2014 contains a number of investments in high-end capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the $718 billion, $104.3 billion goes to research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) activities; $155.8 billion goes to military personnel accounts, $143.1 billion goes to procurement; $292.7 billion goes to operations and maintenance; and $22.5 billion goes to military construction and family housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broken down by department, $205.6 billion goes to the Navy, a $9.95 billion increase from FY19; $204.8 billion goes to the Air Force, an $11.8 billion increase; $191.4 billion goes to the Army, a $12.5 billion increase; and $116.6 billion goes to defensewide efforts, a decrease of $930 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army\u2019s figure appears to include the $9.2 billion in emergency funds as part of the service\u2019s budget, making its increase significantly less than the other services at a time when the Pentagon is turning away from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and moving to potential conflict with Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Included in the contingency funding are two flavors of OCO: $66 billion in traditional OCO dollars for war-fighting needs, and $98 billion in OCO-for-base funds \u2014 essentially, money that could be in the base budget but is classified as OCO for the purpose of skirting statutory budget caps imposed by the Budget Control Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to the future, the Pentagon projects a defense top line of $713 billion in FY21, including $62 billion in OCO funding and $94 billion in OCO-for-base funds; $727 billion in FY22, including $20 billion in OCO; $742 billion in FY23, including $20 billion in OCO; and $747 billion in FY24, including $10 billion in OCO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Pentagon\u2019s budget has increased, the State Department\u2019s budget request dropped by a staggering 23 percent. Asked about that discrepancy Tuesday morning, Shanahan expressed confidence in his colleagues at the State Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spoke with Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo this week. He\u2019s confident that he\u2019ll have the resources that he needs to perform his duties,\u201d Shanahan told the pool report from Task & Purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major investment areas<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon plans investments in the following primary areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n