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Fiscal Year 2012 Department of Defense Budget Request: Securing a Stronger Defense Amid Tight Budget Constraints

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

As the Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the Fiscal Year 2012 Department of Defense budget request, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, and Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Robert Hale, present a budget that seeks to address the department's financial challenges while maintaining a strong defense posture. With a current continuing resolution set to expire on March 4, 2011, and a looming budget deficit of over a trillion dollars, the committee is tasked with scrutinizing the department's budget and seeking additional efficiencies. The FY 2012 base budget request of $553 billion reflects a reduction in inflation-adjusted terms from the previous year, and the total defense budget, including base funding and overseas contingency operations, is set to decline from $708 billion in FY 2011 to $671 billion in FY 2012.

Key Takeaways:

  • The FY 2012 base budget request of $553 billion reflects a reduction in inflation-adjusted terms from the previous year, with a total defense budget decline from $708 billion in FY 2011 to $671 billion in FY 2012, driven by the continued withdrawal from Iraq.
  • The Department of Defense has implemented efficiencies, streamlining, cuts, and cancellations that add up to $178 billion over the next five years, aiming to reduce expenses while maintaining a strong defense posture.
  • The FY 2012 budget request includes increased funding for military personnel and health care, supporting wounded and sick service members, research into traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychological health, and fully funding family support programs.
  • The committee is tasked with scrutinizing the secretary's efficiencies initiative and seeking additional efficiencies, given the tight budget constraints and the need to address a trillion-dollar budget deficit.
  • The Department of Defense will continue to operate under a continuing resolution, unless a full-year appropriation is enacted, which would provide the department's base funding of $526 billion for FY 2011, $23 billion below the original FY 2011 request of $549 billion.

Statistics:

  • The FY 2012 base budget request is $553 billion, a reduction of $4 billion from the FY 2011 request.
  • The total defense budget, including base funding and overseas contingency operations, declines from $708 billion in FY 2011 to $671 billion in FY 2012.
  • The budget for overseas contingency operations falls from $159 billion in FY 2011 to $118 billion in FY 2012, mainly due to the withdrawal from Iraq.
  • The Department of Defense aims to achieve $178 billion in savings through efficiencies, streamlining, cuts, and cancellations over the next five years.

Sources:

  • "Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee Subject: The Fiscal Year 2012 Department of Defense Budget Request" (Federal News Service, Inc., Ste. 500, 1000 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 USA, 2011)
  • "Copyright 2011 by Federal News Service, Inc."

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