{"id":37406,"date":"2020-05-12T05:44:44","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T05:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/12\/bulging-deficits-may-threaten-prized-pentagon-arms-projects\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:40:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:40:37","slug":"bulging-deficits-may-threaten-prized-pentagon-arms-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/05\/12\/bulging-deficits-may-threaten-prized-pentagon-arms-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulging deficits may threaten prized Pentagon arms projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The government\u2019s $3 trillion effort to rescue the economy from the coronavirus crisis is stirring worry at the Pentagon. Bulging federal deficits may force a reversal of years of big defense spending gains and threaten prized projects<\/a> like the rebuilding of the nation\u2019s arsenal of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the sudden burst of deficit spending to prop up a damaged economy is bringing the Pentagon closer to a point where it will have to shed older weapons faster and tighten its belt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has accelerated this day of reckoning,\u201d Esper said in an Associated Press interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also sets up confrontations with Congress over how that reckoning will be achieved. Past efforts to eliminate older weapons and to make other cost-saving moves like closing under-used military bases met resistance. This being a presidential election year, much of this struggle may slip to 2021. If presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins, the pace of defense cuts could speed up, if he follows the traditional Democratic path to put less emphasis on defense buildups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Congress passed four programs to sustain the economy through the virus shock, the budget deficit \u2014 the gap between what the government spends and what it collects in taxes \u2014 will hit a record $3.7 trillion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. By the time the budget year ends in September, the government\u2019s debt \u2014 its accumulated annual deficits \u2014 will equal 101% of the U.S. gross domestic product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Ken Calvert of California, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, says defense budgets were strained even before this year\u2019s unplanned burst of deficit spending. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no question that budgetary pressure will only increase now for all segments of our federal budget, including defense,\u201d Calvert said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For military leaders, the money crunch poses an economic threat that could undermine what they see as spending crucial to U.S. security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One prominent example is the Trump administration\u2019s plan \u2014 inherited from the Obama administration \u2014 to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into replacing every major element of the nuclear weapons complex<\/a>, from some of the warheads designed and built by the Energy Department to the bombers, submarines and land-based missiles that would deliver the warheads in combat. <\/p>\n\n\n\t