Analysis of Senate Appropriations Committee Action on the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3326)
Sept. 24, 2009
The Senate Appropriations Committee completed its markup of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations bill on September 9. The bill includes $497.6 billion for the Department of Defense’s annual “base” budget (not including funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan). This is roughly $3.5 billion below the Obama Administration’s request ($501.1 billion) and $15.4 billion above current levels.
Fact Sheet: Quick Facts About U.S. Military Operations in Afghanistan
Sept. 2, 2009
The Obama Administration is in the process of preparing a set of benchmarks which will be used to gage the progress of U.S. military and civilian operations in Afghanistan. Ordered by Congress, the benchmarks are due by September 24. In addition, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has just released an interim assessment of the situation in the region. It has been widely reported that as a result of this assessment, Gen. McChrystal may request that as many as 45,000 additional U.S. troops be sent to Afghanistan. The following are quick facts about the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan to date. We hope they are useful to you to you as you follow this issue.
Cost of War Tops $915 Billion
July 16, 2009
Congress has appropriated another $84.8 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the remainder of the 2009 fiscal year ending September 30, 2009. The Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on June 24, 2009, allocates $45.5 billion for war-related actions in Iraq and $39.4 billion to Afghanistan.
Fact Sheet: The F/A-22 “Raptor” Fighter
June 24, 2009
The F-22, known as the “Raptor,” is an air-superiority fighter intended to replace a portion of the Air Force’s fleet of F-15s. The aircraft utilizes “stealth” technologies, and is able to cruise at supersonic speed without afterburners, thus saving fuel. Lockheed-Martin is the prime contractor, while Boeing (airframes) and Pratt & Whitney (engines) are major subcontractors.
Highlights of House Armed Services Committee Action on the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 2647)
June 24, 2009
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) completed its markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Defense Authorization bill (HR 2647) on June 17, 2009. HASC’s marked up bill recommends an overall FY’10 authorization level of $680.5 billion, $348 million more than requested by the administration. This $680.5 billion total includes $130 billion for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and $550.5 billion for National Defense (function 050). Of the $550.5 billion slated for National Defense, $534.0 billion is for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $16.5 billion is for the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons activities. The full House is expected to take up the Defense Authorization bill this week.
2010 Pentagon Spending Request
May 8, 2009
On March 2, 2009, the Obama Administration released the initial details of its proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget for the federal government. As part of this budget, the Administration is seeking $533.8 billion in funding for the Department of Defense, not including funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan or the nuclear weapons related activities of the Department of Energy. Adjusted for inflation, the $534 billion request is $9 billion, or 1.7 percent, more than Congress approved for the Defense Department for FY 2009.
The Cost of War in Afghanistan
April 25, 2009
Seven years ago, the “global war on terror” began in Afghanistan as a military response to the September 11 attacks. In March 2003, the United States also invaded Iraq. Today, US forces are deeply mired in both countries with some 200,000 US troops in the region, of which 137,000 are in Iraq and about 40,000 in Afghanistan, with the Obama Administration requesting an additional 21,000 troops.
The President's War Request: Local Costs Updated
April 14, 2009
As Congress considers additional war funding for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2009, National Priorities Project offers a state-level table and breakdowns of the President's proposed total war spending by congressional district, county and city.
The Cold War Takes a Hit
April 7, 2009
Foreign Policy In Focus expert Miriam Pemberton and Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation analyst Travis Sharp respond to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’s military budget.
Signals From President Obama's First Budget
Feb. 26, 2009
National Priorities Project and the Institute for Policy Studies release an examination of the preliminary military and non-military security spending requests found in President Obama's Fiscal Year 2010 budget overview, released today, February 26, 2009.