{"id":61758,"date":"2020-05-05T20:07:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T20:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/05\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:30:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:30:49","slug":"esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/05\/05\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Esper: Flat budget could speed cutting of legacy programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 If the Pentagon faces tighter budgets in the coming years, departmental planners should look to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/2019\/08\/30\/espers-pledge-to-trim-pointless-programs-will-test-his-political-clout\/\" target=_blank>cut legacy programs<\/a> first in order to preserve funding for modernization requirements, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrankly, my inclination is not to risk any in the modernization programs; it\u2019s to go back and pull out more of the legacy programs,\u201d Esper said in response to a question about what modernization priorities, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2020\/02\/09\/defense-secretary-mark-esper-on-how-the-navy-can-get-to-355-ships\/\" target=\"_blank\">such as shipbuilding<\/a>, might be on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need to move away from legacy [programs] and we need to invest those dollars into the future. We have a lot of legacy programs out there right now. I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa\/2018\/10\/08\/armys-night-court-finds-25-billion-to-reinvest-in-modernization-priorities\/\" target=_blank>could pick dozens<\/a> out from all branches of the services. So that is where I would start,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat that would mean is probably accepting some near-term risk, but I think that is something [that has to happen], given the trajectory that we see China is on, and we know where Russia may be going in the coming years. So that is one place where I would begin, but we\u2019re going to be working through this course of action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/28\/night-court-comes-to-the-pentagon\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95.jpg_4c4ac7.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Night court comes to the Pentagon<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">\u201cIf you want to call it that, that\u2019s fine with me,\u201d Esper said when asked if his new review was the equivalent of a Pentagon-wide night court process.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The secretary also emphasized that he\u2019s not going to \u201crisk the strategic deterrent,\u201d reiterating that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2020\/02\/10\/trump-budget-requests-46-billion-for-nuclear-weapons-programs\/\" target=_blank>modernizing America\u2019s nuclear capabilities<\/a> remains the department\u2019s top priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Budgets were already expected to be flat or decline slightly in the coming years before the coronavirus pandemic, which has required the U.S. government to pump trillions of dollars into the economy. Esper said that \u201ctremendous load\u201d is something the department must consider as it plots a budget strategy for fiscal 2022 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His comments match what the secretary said Monday during an appearance at the Brookings Institution, where he said the spending spree in response to the spread of COVID-19 means the department\u2019s ongoing efforts to find internal efficiencies must continue to bear fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2020\/02\/10\/how-the-pentagon-found-65-billion-in-savings-in-2019\/\" target=_blank>claimed savings of $6.5 billion<\/a> in FY19 through process reforms and the sale of obsolete equipment, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/budget\/2020\/02\/06\/heres-how-much-money-the-pentagon-found-through-internal-savings-and-where-its-going\/\" target=_blank>another $5.7 billion in spending<\/a> reallocated from legacy programs to modernization priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the Brookings event, Esper noted that the department will \u201clikely need\u201d extra money from Congress if a fourth coronavirus supplemental fund is worked out, in order to help cover costs for medical supplies procured by the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/04\/27\/what-the-pentagon-should-and-should-not-get-in-the-next-stimulus-bill\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GW-fall-MAIN.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">What the Pentagon should (and should not) get in the next stimulus bill<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">If the Pentagon and primes don\u2019t take care of their suppliers and subcontractors, the defense-industrial base will contract again.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the start of his press event, the secretary used prepared remarks to note that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/battlefield-tech\/2020\/04\/28\/senate-armed-services-committee-planning-ligado-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\">top defense leaders will be appearing<\/a> at the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow to discuss the Federal Communications Commission\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/breaking-news\/2020\/04\/17\/fcc-has-votes-to-approve-spectrum-plan-pentagon-rejected\/\" target=\"_blank\">decision to allow Ligado to operate<\/a> in the L-band spectrum, a move long opposed by the department because of concerns it will negatively impact GPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper said the decision \u201cdisregards the many objections of industry and the inner agency, grounded in years of hard data and science. Ultimately this will cause harmful interference to the GPS network, jeopardizing our nation\u2019s security, prosperity and way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The secretary declined to comment on why the FCC moved ahead with the decision. C4ISRNET, a sister publication of Defense News, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/breaking-news\/2020\/04\/10\/fcc-to-approve-spectrum-plan-that-pentagon-claims-will-harm-gps\/\" target=\"_blank\">has reported the decision<\/a> came amid political pressure from top Trump administration officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;We have a lot of legacy programs out there right now. I could pick dozens out from all branches of the services. So that is where I would start,\u201d the defense secretary says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":116651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","coronavirus"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"9":{"categories":["coronavirus","daily-brief","newsletters"],"primary_category":"coronavirus"}}},"categories":[9,160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3378],"class_list":["post-61758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"OUKZWSKYGZABTLQ72UPDVH4RF4","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2020\/05\/05\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Esper: Flat budget could speed cutting of legacy programs - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;We have a lot of legacy programs out there right now. I could pick dozens out from all branches of the services. So that is where I would start,\u201d the defense secretary says.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/05\/05\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Esper: Flat budget could speed cutting of legacy programs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;We have a lot of legacy programs out there right now. I could pick dozens out from all branches of the services. So that is where I would start,\u201d the defense secretary says.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/05\/05\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-05T20:07:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:30:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Esper: Flat budget could speed cutting of legacy programs\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-05-05T20:07:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:30:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 527,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP20057544848563.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Coronavirus | COVID-19 Updates\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Esper: Flat budget could speed cutting of legacy programs - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/05\\\/esper-flat-budget-could-speed-cutting-legacy-programs\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP20057544848563.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-05-05T20:07:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:30:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"\\\"We have a lot of legacy programs out there right now. 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