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Summary:
The President's FY2009 federal budget request, released February 4, 2008,
included $611.1 billion in new budget authority for national defense. This total
included $515.4 billion in discretionary new budget authority for the base budget of
the Department of Defense (DOD) ? i.e., activities not associated with combat
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget included an additional $2.9 billion
in mandatory spending for the DOD base budget and $22.8 billion for non-warrelated
defense costs of the Department of Energy and other agencies. In addition to
the $541.1 billion requested for the base line (i.e., non-war cost) budget, the request
also included $70 billion to cover war costs in the first part of FY2009.
On April 30 the Senate Armed Services Committee approved its version of the
FY2009 defense authorization bill (S. 3001), authorizing the appropriation of $612.5
billion in new budget authority for national security programs, including $542.5
billion for the base line budget and a $70 billion allowance for war-related costs. The
committee approved without major change the funding requests for several programs
that have been the subject of controversy, including the Army's Future Combat
Systems (FCS), the Navy's DDG-1000 destroyer, and the Air Force's KC-45A midair
refueling tanker. The committee bill would add to the request $497 million to
either continue or terminate production of the Air Force's F-22 fighter. It also would
add to the request $465 million to continue development of an alternate engine for
the F-35 Joint Strike fighter and $35 million to improve the engine currently slated
for installation. The Senate may take up the bill in September.
In related action, the House passed its version of the defense authorization bill
(H.R. 5658) on May 22 authorizing $612.5 billion, including $70 billion for warrelated
costs. The bill would deny authorization of the $2.5 billion requested for a
third destroyer of the DDG-1000 class. Instead, it would allocate those funds to buy
an LPD-17-class amphibious landing transport, and two T-AGE-class supply ships
and to purchase either components to be used in another DDG-1000 or components
that would be used to continue production of DDG-51 class destroyers, the type the
DDG-1000 is intended to supplant.
In addition to authorizing $3 billion requested to buy 20 F-22 fighters in
FY2009, the House bill would authorize $523 million that was not requested but
which would buy components that would allow the purchase of 20 additional F-22s
in FY2010. It also added to the Administration's request authorization for $3.9
billion for 15 C-17 cargo planes.
The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its version of the
FY2009 Defense Appropriations Bill on July 30, recommending a total of $487.7
billion, which the panel said was $4 billion less than the President requested for that
bill. The full House Appropriations Committee will take up the bill in September.
This report will be updated as developments warrant.
