Tag: FY 2013

means of giving the Pentagon some degree of autonomy in dealing with mandatory across-the-board spending cuts mandated under sequestration. Additional funding was also authorized for those military accounts that are likely to suffer the most during sequestration, such as operations and maintenance.

By morning of March 1, 2013 as mandatory budget cuts will take effect, the US DOD will enter a ruthless, potentially devastating cycle of...

In a quiet affair without fanfare, President Barack Obama signed into law the $633 billion Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on 31 December while vacationing in his home state of Hawaii. While not an appropriations act providing the funding to pay for the provisions contained in the law, the NDAA does outline the specific projects and programs the Department of Defense (DoD) is authorized to pursue. Actual funding authorization will be included in an appropriations bill yet to be finalized.

The finalized bill sets the DoD’s base budget at $527.7 billion which is $1.7 billion more than the president requested, but represents a reduction of $29 billion from current spending levels. However, according to Defense secretary Panetta, Congress was too generous in allocating $74 billion in funding programs the military does not need, does not want, and previously scheduled for termination.