Increased Defense Spending Becoming Area of Bipartisanship

In this era of harsh partisanship, there is common ground between Republicans and Democrats on only a handful of issues - such as providing for the proper training and equipment for the military and other things necessary for our national defense. Although there is disagreement on the proper amount of funding for Ukraine between the parties, there seems to be a general bipartisan agreement that a solid America first policy is to increase funding for the Pentagon. The recently released budget by President Biden shows that the Administration’s request to Congress is to hike spending on procurement, research, and development to record levels.

The Biden Administration proposing Congress increase defense spending speaks to a real change from the Obama Administration’s years of underfunding the military. Bloomberg News reported on March 7, 2023, “the spending plan President Joe Biden will propose Thursday includes what officials say is one of the nation’s largest peacetime defense budgets, with $170 billion for weapons procurement and $145 billion for research and development, both recent records.” The numbers proposed for the next fiscal year that starts on October 1 will be higher than the level from this year - $835 billion. That is a $19 billion hike.

With recent belligerent actions from China and Russia - and other potential detractors and conflicts looming on the horizon, it makes sense to fully fund a robust defense structure to deter these aggressive regimes seeking to expand their empires and influence. Chinese President Xi Jinping declared on March 13, 2023, as reported by The Guardian, a need for “national reunification” and opposition to “pro-independence” influences in Taiwan. This rhetoric shows it is a real possibility that China has its sights on invading and absorbing democratic Taiwan. Russia continues the war in Ukraine where they are attempting to restore territory and hegemony lost when the Soviet Union broke up. The emergence of a more aggressive China and Russia speak to the need for increased defense spending and investment in the U.S.’ ability to respond to world events.

That spending needs to be targeted and smart. The Biden Administration budget proposes to increase both the defense and non-defense budget in a proportion which received some strong criticism from Republicans. Defense News quoted House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) on March 10, 2023 as arguing “a budget that proposes to increase non-defense spending at more than twice the rate of defense is absurd. The President’s incredibly misplaced priorities send all the wrong messages to our adversaries.” His comments were amplified by Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) who characterized the Biden budget requests as “woefully inadequate.” Congressional Republicans will plus up defense spending as necessary while ensuring the proper reductions on the non-defense discretionary side.

With more careful stewardship, the Pentagon will need to be spending the increased taxpayer dollars more efficiently and wisely. One possible manner where savings could be realized is in the line item dedicated to air refueling tankers for the Air Force. While the armed forces work on something called the Next-Generation Air Refueling System (NGAS), the Pentagon has a choice between the KC-46 Pegasus or a different tanker.  If they chose the other tanker, it will end up costing more over the long term because of the new costs of assimilating a new aircraft into the Air Force and the possibility of contracting with a proposed contractor based in Europe, Airbus. Contracting with a foreign producer will end up making it more difficult to service aircraft and will include the outsourcing of U.S. tax dollars – not a popular talking point these days - to a manufacturing base in Europe.

Aside from the tanker, there are other line items in the Pentagon budget which need to be reviewed to ensure good stewardship. The Defense News report quoted Elaine McCusker, a Sr. Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) pointing out that the “Pentagon budget request actually amounts to a ‘$28 billion cut to programs and activities’ after accounting for the proposed 5.2% troop pay raise and inflation.” That pay hike is important for retention and recruitment but shows much of the increase in requested funds going to the Pentagon needs to be allocated efficiently to protect against cuts to existing important programs and make sure troops are adequately paid.

The Pentagon budget is going to be hotly contested by Republicans and Democrats with both pushing for some degree of an increase. The real battle will come when Congress, and the Pentagon, decide to make the tougher decisions in the specific line items. Congress needs to take steps to make sure the proposed hike in defense spending does not become an illusory increase that serves as a talking point more than an actual increase in resources for our military men and women in the field.

Peter Mihalick is former legislative director and counsel to former Reps. Barbara Comstock, Virginia Republican, and Rodney Blum, Iowa Republican.