War, national security get hefty budget increases
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Though the focus will be on spending for domestic programs, the war and national security also will get hefty increases under President Obama’s proposed budget.
The 2011 budget for Defense calls for $548.9 billion, a 3.4% increase over the 2010 level and slightly more than the general increase of 3%. Homeland Security will see its budget increased to $4.35 billion from $4.26 billion in this fiscal year.
In addition to the costs associated with wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Defense budget includes broader spending, for endeavors such as “taking care of our men and women in uniform, rebalancing our forces to address both current and future conflicts, and reforming business practices in areas such as developing and purchasing weapons,” the Defense Department noted.
Spending on war is slightly less than during the closing years of the Bush administration, in keeping with Obama’s pledge to wind down the Iraq war by the end of 2011 while escalating the war in Afghanistan, where the battle is against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
To pay for the military surge in Afghanistan, Obama asked for another $33 billion in the current 2010 fiscal year, in addition to about $130 billion that Congress already had approved for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars through Sept. 30.
His proposed budget also will include a request for $159.3 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the 2011 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
In fiscal year 2008, Bush’s last year in office, war operations cost about $185 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. This was slightly more than the appropriations in fiscal 2007, which were $171 billion.
“I also want to note even though the Department of Defense is exempt from the budget freeze, it’s not exempt from budget common sense,” Obama said this morning in televised remarks from the White House.
But that might be easier said than done, given the congressional representatives’ goal of saving some programs that help their districts. Congress will act on Obama’s proposals.
“We save money by eliminating unnecessary Defense programs that do nothing to keep us safe. One example is the $2.5 billion that we’re spending to build C-17 transport aircraft. Four years ago, the Defense Department decided to cease production because it had acquired the number requested -- 180. Yet every year since, Congress had provided unrequested money for more C-17s that the Pentagon doesn’t want or need. It’s waste, pure and simple,” Obama said.
-- Michael Muskal
