Pentagon rolls out new budget with old spending asks still pending

The Pentagon on Monday rolled out its annual financial request to Congress for fiscal year 2025 while reminding lawmakers that they have yet to pass last year’s defense budget or a supplemental request for Ukraine and Israel to support their ongoing wars against Russia and Hamas.

The Defense Department is asking Congress for $849.8 billion to fund military operations over the next fiscal year. The figure amounts to a 4.2% increase over its base level request in the 2023 fiscal year — $815.9 billion — and a 4.2% increase in the $817.3 billion provided by the FY 2024 continuing resolution, a stopgap measure that freezes spending at the previous year’s level and prevents officials from initiating new programs.

“Our military readiness depends on our ability to pass timely appropriations,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told reporters at the Pentagon. “I cannot emphasize this enough: We need predictable, adequate, sustained and timely funding. We cannot afford any more lost time.”

The total budget includes $186 billion for the Army; $257 billion for the Navy and Marine Corps; and $262 billion for the Air Force and Space Force. Included on the procurement list is $49 billion for modernization of the nuclear triad, including $9.9 billion for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, $5.3 billion for the B-21 bomber and $3.7 billion for the Sentinel/Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.

The Navy would use $48.1 billion to construct six warships, including a Virginia-class submarine, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, six Constellation-class guided missile frigates, a San Antonio-class amphibious warfare vessel and a Medium Landing Ship. The Army will receive $13 billion to modernize Army and Marine Corps combat equipment, including armored multi-purpose vehicles, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle, and the XM3 Combat Vehicle. The Air Force is requesting $61.2 billion to focus on a mix of F-22, F-35, and F-15EX fighters; mobility and tanker aircraft; the B-21 bomber and unmanned aircraft systems.

The Defense Department said the spending request is “consistent” with mandatory caps that were approved by Congress under a 2023 budget law.

“We made difficult, but responsible, decisions that focus on maintaining our military’s readiness and taking care of our people,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. “Our budget request reflects targeted reductions to programs that will deliver key capabilities in later years to support the joint force’s ability to fight and win in the near term.”

The “targeted reductions” include the stretching out development times for the Navy’s Next Generation Fighter program and the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program. The Pentagon said they wouldn’t be able to “deliver capability” to the military until the 2030s.

The budget request also provides for a 4.5% pay raise for military personnel and a 20% increase for civilian personnel in the Defense Department. It will allocate more than $61 billion to provide health care to the troops along with just over $10 billion for family support issues, including increased child care and youth programs. 

Despite criticisms from Congress about “woke” Defense Department programs, the Pentagon said it will “ensure accountable leadership” with investments sexual assault and harassment prevention and suicide prevention along with more controversial subjects like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and “Insider Threat” programs.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said the Defense Department constructed a budget to meet an “arbitrary number” rather than one informed by the goal of deterring threats to the nation.

“I worry about the long-term impact this budget process will have on our national defense,” the Alabama Republican said in a statement reacting to the budget’s release.

The GOP-controlled House panel will begin drafting a defense authorization bill in the coming months that will “meet the threat posed by those who seek to undermine our way of life,” while ensuring to take care of military members, Mr. Rogers said.