The U.S. White House expected to request an increase in the 2016 U.S. Defense Department budget, which will be nearing over $534 billion. In 2011, the U.S. Congress agreed to limit both domestic and military spending and limit defense spending to $499 billion in 2016; however, that cap breached by $35 billion. This will include additional F-35C Joint Strike Fighters. The 2016 budget will also include a war-funding request of $50.9 billion; however, the specifics not given as to what war the White House target the funds for. The U.S. is still fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and with (ISIS) in Northern Syria and Iraq. Recently, the White House announced that it was providing $2 billion to Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko. So far, the death toll in the Ukraine war has reached over 5457.
In the 2014 fiscal year, the U.S. Defense Department’s budget was $496 billion. Pentagon officials said the higher spending level is necessary to maintain the current military strategy. The Pentagon is completing a report on its strategy in Asia. The Pentagon continues to seek military-to-military exchanges between the U.S. and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). In 2013, a PRC ship came within 100 feet of the USS Cowpens, a guided missile cruiser in the South China Sea.
Due to the sequester the Pentagon rapidly cut back on training of Army units and flight hours for Air Force pilots, which left fewer forces deployed overseas. In addition, U.S. Navy ship deployments canceled and the aircraft carrier bound for the Persian Gulf delayed by several months. Under budget sequester, the U.S. Army will reduce personnel to 420,000 soldiers from its current 506,000, and a class of air-refueling tankers scrapped.
Congressional Budget Office report forecasting that the annual deficit would shrink moderately into 2017 before climbing again as retirement and health-care costs rise. The Pentagon employs 3 million people. The Pentagon owns 70 percent of the value of the U.S. federal government’s $1.8 trillion in property, land, and equipment. The Department of Defense accounts for more than 95% of total national military spending.
