Director’s Desk: April 15, 2013
Kenneth Gold | April 15, 2013
Although the President submitted this year’s budget two months late, it’s clear that the various fiscal cliffs, the on again off again on again sequester and the continuing resolutions have made budget planning a nightmare. In defense, the budget proposes a new round of base closures that would begin in 2015, even though it’s clear closing bases is a non-starter in Congress. It requests $526.6 billion in base budget spending and $88 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), which is $900 million below the FY13 appropriations total, but $52 billion over the budget cap imposed by sequestration. The $88 billion in war spending is $6 billion more than last year’s request, even though we’re planning on withdrawing from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. When asked to explain why the war spending request hadn’t decreased, as most expected, Defense Comptroller Bob Hale explained:“Here’s the simple story about the OCO budget. We don’t have one yet.”
Categories: Director's Desk, Updates