Funding should never be a distraction to achieving military objectives. But, as we see year after year when Congress and the administration fail to reach agreements that would enact annual appropriations on time, it has become much more than a distraction. Lack of funding agreements, and the continuing resolutions (CRs) that result to keep the government running on previous years’ funding and dated priorities waste billons, disrupt programs, delay new efforts and waste time that can never be recovered.

The House has just passed omnibus appropriations for fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022), more than six months into the year. Another new normal in financing the government, the $1.5 trillion discretionary spending package, includes $782 billion for national security programs and $730 billion for non-defense activities plus $13.6 billion in emergency supplemental spending for Ukraine.

Specific to national security spending, there
are four key points to note: (1) the final FY 2022 national security top line
is $782 billion, 5.6 percent over the current enacted level; (2) clear
priorities for the increased funding are the military construction (MILCON) and
procurement accounts; (3) many increases continue to go to activities that do
not provide military capability; and (4) there is a continued emphasis on
research and development efforts that will require transition plans for
integration and deployment to produce real military capability.

First, the discretionary defense top line. What
makes this funding package somewhat difficult to understand is that different
numbers are used interchangeably. As summarized in the table below, total
defense, or national security, spending, called “050” is $782 billion in the
omnibus bill. This bin of discretionary spending includes funding for the
Defense Department, military construction, and atomic energy programs within
the Department of Energy.

The national security number is important
because it sets the FY 2022 baseline at $29 billion above that requested by the
first Biden administration budget and $26 above the $756 billion FY 2023
placeholder for defense released by the Office of Management and Budget with
the FY 2022 request.

Funding provided to the Department of Defense
within the national security amount, called “051” is $743.4 billion, an
increase of $39.7 billion (+5.6 percent) compared to FY 2021 enacted
levels. 

Second, the two clear winners in the final
negotiated higher defense spending number are the military construction (+$5.1
billion, +52 percent over PB 22) and procurement (+$12.4 billion, +9.4 percent
over PB 22) accounts.  

Some of the larger increases over PB 22 in the
MILCON account go to:

• +$4.3
  billion for all eligible, authorized Unfunded Requirement (UFR) projects for
  things like Army barracks, vehicle maintenance and child care centers; Navy and
  Marine Corps maintenance centers, hangers and firehouses; and Air Force
  schools, fitness centers, and training and flight line support facilities.
• +$787
  million specifically for Barracks for Unaccompanied Soldiers at various
  locations.
• +$259
  million for construction or alteration of Guard and Reserve facilities in
  states and territories.
• +$219
  million for Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan (SIOP) projects.
• +$120
  million for Climate Change and Resiliency projects.

For procurement, the defense bill prioritizes
increases for: cargo and transport aircraft (130s); remotely piloted, armed
aircraft (MQ-9s); Blackhawk, CH-53K and V-22 helicopters; shipbuilding (+$4.1
billion and 5 ships over the request); combat vehicles; special operations
lightweight counter unmanned aerial systems; and close to $1 billion for
national guard and reserve equipment.

Third, the majority press release signals increases for non-defense activities in the final defense bill, noting priority for confronting climate change and a focus on environmental programs and cancer research. In fact, the bill includes a $2 billion increase in defense health program research and $486.5 million more than requested for environmental restoration. Though important, both activities are, and should be, led by other federal departments.

And finally, the omnibus agreement increases an already large research, development, test and evaluation budget by 6.4 percent for important areas of focus such as manufacturing, supply chain, artificial intelligence, microelectronics, and hypersonics. The Department and Congress will need to work quickly and closely together on process and statutory improvements to remove barriers to defense modernization so these funds produce military capabilities that really increase competitiveness and modernize the way the military operates.

The FY 2023 defense budget request is reportedly locked. The top line and a date for submission of the budget from Congress are not yet known.  Though the administration knew the final FY 2022 outcome would be higher than what they had requested, the pending FY 2022 enactment now provides DOD with almost no time to adjust any FY 2023 numbers to reflect a coherent strategy. National Security and Defense strategies have not yet been released and are reportedly undergoing revision. Despite comments made recently by the DOD Comptroller that inflation is not as high for DOD as reports indicate and that the budget is not being rewritten due to current events in Ukraine, the administration’s budget and strategy roll-out story will be complicated.

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