President Obama Proposes 2016 U.S. Budget
Military and War
The president’s budget proposal would spend $612 billion on national defense discretionary programs, including funding for the Pentagon, war, nuclear weapons, and other related expenses, more than President Reagan ever spend in a single year. This represents a 4.5 percent increase over the 2015 enacted level and exceeds spending caps set by the Budget Control Act by $38 billion.
The proposal includes $534 billion for the Department of Defense base budget, a figure that does not include war costs or nuclear weapons activities within the Department of Energy. That represents a more than $38 billion increase – a more than 7 percent increase – relative to 2015 enacted spending levels and would be the highest Department of Defense base budget in history. The budget funds the development of 19 more F-35 fighter jets than were produced in 2015, despite the fact that the planes are billions over budget and years behind schedule.
The president also calls for nearly $51 billion in a separate account called the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) for war activities, which would add to the more than $1.6 trillion the U.S. has already spent on war since 2001. The OCO budget includes $5.3 billion for continued operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Since OCO is not subject to funding caps or sequestration cuts, billions of dollars in the war budget have been widely referred to as a “slush fund.”
More about the President's 2016 Budget:
Total Spending
Taxes and Revenue
Education
Climate Change
Social Security & Health Care
Budget Deficit
What Is the President’s Budget Request?
Full Analysis