The military budget of the United States is the largest portion of the discretionary federal budget allocated to the Department of Defense (DoD), or more broadly, the portion of the budget that goes to any military-related expenditures. The military budget pays the salaries, training, and health care of uniformed and civilian personnel, maintains arms, equipment and facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new items. The budget funds six branches of the US military: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Space Force.
As of 11 March 2024 the US Department of Defense fiscal year 2025 (FY2025) budget request was $849.8 billion.[a]
As of 10 March 2023 the fiscal year 2024 (FY2024) presidential budget request was $842 billion.[b] In January 2023 Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced the US government would hit its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on 19 January 2023;[16] the date on which the US government would no longer be able to use extraordinary measures such as issuance of Treasury securities is estimated to be in June 2023.[17] On 3 June 2023, the debt ceiling was suspended until 2025.[18] The $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act is facing reconciliation of the House and Senate bills after passing both houses 27 July 2023; the conferees have to be chosen, next.[19][20][21] As of September 2023, a Continuing resolution is needed to prevent a Government shutdown.[22][23][24] A shutdown was avoided on 30 September for 45 days (until 17 November 2023),[25][26][27][28] with passage of the NDAA on 14 December 2023.[29] The Senate will next undertake negotiations on supplemental spending for 2024.[30][31] A government shutdown was averted on 23 March 2024 with the signing of a $1.2 trillion bill to cover FY2024.[32][33]
As of March 2022[update], the defense department was operating under a continuing resolution,[34] which constrains spending even though DoD has to respond to world events, such as the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine;[34][35][8][9] the FY2023 defense budget request will exceed $773 billion, according to the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.[36] By 9 March 2022 a bipartisan agreement on a $782 billion defense budget had been reached (as part of an overall $1.5 trillion budget for FY2022 – thus avoiding a government shutdown).[37]
As of 4 April 2022 the FY2023 presidential budget request of $773 billion included $177.5 billion for the Army,[38][39] $194 billion for the Air Force and Space Force,[40] and $230.8 billion for the Navy and Marine Corps (up 4.1% from FY2022 request).[41] As of 12 December 2022 the House and Senate versions of the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (FY2023 NDAA) were to be $839 billion, and $847 billion, for the HASC, and SASC respectively, for a compromise $857.9 billion top line.[42] By 16 December 2022 the current budget extension resolution will have expired.[43] The President signed the FY2023 Appropriations bill on 23 December 2022.[44]
US military spending in 2021 reached $801 billion per year according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In May 2021, the President's defense budget request for FY2022 was $715 billion, up $10 billion from the $705 billion FY2021 request.[45] The total FY2022 defense budget request, including the Department of Energy, was $753 billion, up $12 billion from FY2021's request.[45][46] On 22 July 2021 the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a budget $25 billion greater than the President's request.[47][48][7] The National Defense Authorization Act, budgeting $740 billion for defense, was signed 27 December 2021.[49]
By military department,[50][51][52] the Army's portion of the budget request, $173 billion, dropped $3.6 billion from the enacted FY2021 budget;[53][54][55] the Department of the Navy's portion of the budget request, $211.7 billion, rose 1.8% from the enacted FY2021 budget, largely due to a 6% increase for the Marine Corps' restructuring into a littoral combat force (Navy request: $163.9 billion, or just 0.6% over FY2021, Marine Corps request: $47.9 billion, a 6.2% increase over FY2021);[56] the Air Force's $156.3 billion request for FY2022 is a 2.3% increase over FY2021 enacted budget; the Space Force budget of $17.4 billion is a 13.1% increase over FY2021 enacted budget.[57] Overseas contingency operations (OCOs) are now replaced by "direct war and enduring costs", which are now migrated into the budget.[51] After the release of the FY2022 budget requests to Congress, the military departments also posted their Unfunded priorities/requirements lists for the Congressional Armed Services Committees.[58][59][60][61][62]
For FY2021, the Department of Defense's discretionary budget authority was approximately $705.39 billion ($705,390,000,000). Mandatory spending of $10.77 billion, the Department of Energy and defense-related spending of $37.335 billion added up to the total FY2021 Defense budget of $753.5 billion.[46] FY2021 was the last year for OCOs as shown by the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) investments for the future are offset by the OCO cuts, and by reduced procurement of legacy materiel.[45][63]
(Expenditures listed in millions of dollars)
For fiscal year 2020 (FY2020), the Department of Defense's budget authority was approximately $721.5 billion ($721,531,000,000). Approximately $712.6 billion is discretionary spending with approximately $8.9 billion in mandatory spending. The Department of Defense estimates that $689.6 billion ($689,585,000,000) will actually be spent (outlays).[64] Both left-wing and right-wing commentators have advocated for the cutting of military spending.[65][66][67][68]
For FY2019, the Department of Defense's budget authority was $693,058,000,000 (including discretionary and mandatory budget authority).[69]
In February 2018, the Pentagon requested $686 billion for FY2019.[70]
The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act authorized Department of Defense appropriations for 2019 and established policies, but it did not contain the budget itself. On 26 July, this bill passed in the House of Representatives by 359–54. On 1 August, the US Senate passed it by 87–10. The bill was presented to President Trump two days later. He signed it on 13 August.[71][72][73]
On 28 September 2018, Trump signed the Department of Defense appropriations bill. The approved 2019 Department of Defense discretionary budget was $686.1 billion.[74] It has also been described as "$617 billion for the base budget and another $69 billion for war funding."[75]
Personnel payment and benefits take up approximately 39.14% of the total budget of $686,074,048,000.[76]
Overseas contingency operations (OCO) funds are sometimes called war funds.[77]
The MHS offers, but does not always provide, a health care benefit to 9.5 million eligible beneficiaries, which includes active military members and their families, military retirees and their families, dependent survivors, and certain eligible reserve component members and their families. The unified medical budget (UMB), which comprises the funding and personnel needed to support the MHS' mission, consumes nearly 9% of the department's topline budget authority. Thus, it is a significant line item in the department's financial portfolio.[76]
Budget authority: the authority to legally incur binding obligations (like signing contracts and placing orders), that will result in current and future outlays. When "military budget" is mentioned, people generally are referring to discretionary budget authority.
Outlays: Also known as expenditures or disbursements, it is the liquidation of obligations and general represent cash payments.
Total obligational authority: DoD financial term expressing the value of the direct defense program for a given fiscal year, exclusive of the obligation authority from other sources (such as reimbursable orders accepted)
Discretionary: Annually appropriated by Congress, subject to budget caps.
Mandatory: budget authority authorized by permanent law.
As of 2013, the Department of Defense was the third largest executive branch department and utilized 20% of the federal budget.
For the 2011 fiscal year, the president's base budget for the Department of Defense and spending on overseas contingency operations totaled $664.84 billion.[78][79]
When the budget was signed into law on 28 October 2009, the final size of the Department of Defense's budget was $680 billion, $16 billion more than President Obama had requested.[80] An additional $37 billion supplemental bill to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was expected to pass in the spring of 2010, but has been delayed by the House of Representatives after passing the Senate.[81][82]
The military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were largely funded through supplementary spending bills that supplemented the annual military budget requests for each fiscal year.[83] However, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were categorized as overseas contingency operations beginning in fiscal year 2010, and the budget is included in the federal budget.[citation needed]
By the end of 2008, the US had spent approximately $900 billion in direct costs on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government also incurred indirect costs, which include interests on additional debt and incremental costs, financed by the Veterans Affairs Department, of caring for more than 33,000 wounded. Some experts estimate the indirect costs will eventually exceed the direct costs.[84] As of June 2011, the total cost of the wars was approximately $1.3 trillion.[85]
The federally budgeted (see below) military expenditure of the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2013 is as follows. While data is provided from the 2015 budget, data for 2014 and 2015 is estimated, and thus data is shown for the last year for which definite data exists (2013).[86]
The Department of Defense's FY2011 $137.5 billion procurement and $77.2 billion RDT&E budget requests included several programs worth more than $1.5 billion.