Pentagon's Sweet Slice of the Budget Deal
The budget agreement negotiated last week by President Clinton and Congress calls for higher defense spending than *either* the Pentagon or
Republicans had requested.
The agreement gives a $3 billion increase in defense budget authority
and $7 billion in outlays for next year over Clinton's request, and a
$3 billion increase in outlays over the Republicans' budget resolution
of
last year.
Over five years, the agreement assumes an additional $3 billion in budget authority and $7 billion in outlays over Clinton's request, and
$17 billion in budget authority and $5 billion in outlays over the
Republican FY 1997 budget.
In almost every category, budget negotiations "compromised" on a
defense figure higher than either the President's or the Republicans budget numbers.
A Consistent Pattern
Even with the end of the Cold War, President Clinton and the
Republican
Congress have been regularly increasing Pentagon spending:
- In December 1993, the President added $11.4 billion to the military budget over five years to cover pay raises.
- In December 1994, President Clinton added $25 billion over six years to the Pentagon budget to fund readiness increases, military pay raises pay raises and quality of life improvements.
- In 1996, the Pentagon was permitted $30.5 billion in new purchasing power over six years -- courtesy of lower-than-expected inflation rates.
- Shortly before this year's budget submission, the Administration
added $7 billion to the Pentagon's five-year budget and allowed the
Pentagon to keep $4 billion in inflation savings. The 1998 bonus alone for the Pentagon was $2.8 billion, including $2.6 billion in new funding.
- Congress has been one-upping the President by adding even more money. It added $17.4 billion to the military budget the last two years, including $7.0 billion in fiscal year 1996 and $10.4 billion in
fiscal year 1997.
[Material from Council for a Livable World Education Fund, "Fiscal
1998 Military Budget at a Glance," February 1997, slightly modified.]
Status of the Budget Deal
The House Budget Committee adopted the budget resolution last Friday, May 16. The Senate Budget Committee is to expected to report out the resolution on Monday, May 19. The full House and Senate are expected to consider the budget deal as soon as tomorrow, Tuesday, May 20.
While the budget deal is expected to easily pass, public and
Congressional attention should be focused on the Pentagon spending
figures.
The Numbers
DEFENSE SPENDING, Budget Authority (billion of dollars)
BUDGET
Fiscal Year Clinton Republicans AGREEMENT
FY 1997 263.1
FY 1998 266.0 269.0 269.0
FY 1999 269.8 271.5 271.5
FY 2000 275.5 274.0 275.4
FY 2001 282.0 276.7 281.8
FY 2002 289.8 279.5 289.6
FY 98-02 1,383.1 1,370.6 1,387.3
DEFENSE SPENDING, Outlays (billion of dollars)
BUDGET
Fiscal Year Clinton Republicans AGREEMENT
FY 1997 268.0
FY 1998 260.1 263.8 266.8
FY 1999 262.1 267.0 266.5
FY 2000 267.7 270.7 269.0
FY 2001 268.6 269.7 270.7
FY 2002 273.9 269.6 273.1
FY 98-02 1,332.4 1,340.8 1,346.1
Sources: Office of Management and Budget, FY 1998 Budget.
House Budget Committee, "The Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997,
Summary of Major Assumptions," May 16, 1997, p.6.
| David Culp | E-mail: dculp@nrdc.org |
| Plutonium Challenge | Tel. +1 (202) 289-2388 |
| Washington, D.C. | Fax +1 (202) 289-1060 |