A recent landmark bill that lifted the U.S. debt ceiling while imposing federal spending restrictions has left $16 billion worth of lower-priority defense projects in a state of uncertainty.
Typically funded through the defense budget, these projects, including tank upgrades, helicopter enhancements, and a marine ship, now face potential funding gaps.
The agreement reached to avoid default has left lawmakers, the Department of Defense, and other agencies pondering how to finance projects that were previously included as last-minute additions to the defense policy and appropriations bills, often with little debate.
The debt deal placed a cap on national security spending for fiscal year 2024 at $886 billion, aligning with President Joe Biden's initial request. However, the "unfunded priorities" lists of the military services, which feature items such as Abrams tanks from General Dynamics, a Lockheed Martin plane, and a Marine ship by Huntington Ingalls Industries, may not receive the necessary funding.
Each service compiles its own list, and this year's included new facilities, ship upgrades, munitions, and long-range radars aimed at safeguarding the United States.
According to congressional aides, prior to the debt deal, the relevant committees were considering a national security budget of over $900 million for fiscal year 2024. In the past, a portion of the $16 billion worth of unfunded priorities, along with billions of dollars in lawmaker initiatives, would have been added. In total, aides estimate that an additional $30 to $40 billion could have been allocated to the defense budget.
In recent years, Congress has consistently increased defense spending beyond the president's requests, often by tens of billions of dollars. In 2022 and 2023, spending was raised by over $20 billion each year. Previously, the Pentagon utilized "Overseas Contingency Operations" (OCO) funds for a decade to surpass budget caps imposed by Congress.
However, this year's debt ceiling deal could complicate the process of securing additional funding. It was widely anticipated that President Biden would request further funding in August or September to support Ukraine against Russian aggression, once the $48 billion allocated in December is spent. The Ukraine supplemental spending request may now need to encompass a broader range of military expenses, potentially including projects that were left behind.
Following concerns expressed by defense hawks, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate made a formal commitment on Thursday, prior to the passage of the debt ceiling bill, ensuring that the spending caps would not hinder the Senate's ability to pass supplemental spending legislation for the Department of Defense.
Mackenzie Eaglen, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, stated, "I am certain there will be an emergency supplemental spending bill for Ukraine that includes non-Ukraine defense needs and priorities in it." Photo by The U.S. Army, Wikimedia commons.