Budget 2012: Defense Department

By Walter Pincus

The president's proposed fiscal 2012 budget requests $553 billion for the Defense Department's base spending and another $118 billion for Afghanistan and Iraq for a total of $671 billion.

While the base budget would rise $22 billion above the fiscal 2010 figure expected to be available this year, the funds for Iraq and Afghanistan would drop by $41 billion from the $159 billion expected for this year. That would put the proposed overall fiscal 2012 figure almost $20 billion under overall defense spending for the current year.

Increased spending next year would go to cybersecurity, which would total $2.3 billion, and to new but far lesser expenditures to protect against biological weapons.

The budget would eliminate some weapons systems, including the $13 billion Marines amphibious landing craft called the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle -- a decision already announced. It also deals with skyrocketing military health care costs through what are termed "efficiency and management reforms" projected to save nearly $8 billion over the next five years.

Next year, however, outlays for 9.6 million active and retiree Defense health care beneficiaries, plus construction of hospitals and clinics, is scheduled to grow to $52 billion. But the increases projected are less than in past years.

Another $12.8 billion is requested for Afghan security forces, up nearly $1 billion from the current year request and even more from the amount contained in the current fiscal 2011 continuing resolution.

View agency budget document (Annotated PDF)

Budget 2012 analysis: Full list of agencies