ICYMI: Defense Experts Weigh $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Budget Against Federal Fiscal Challenges

(Arlington, Va. – Oct. 22) – With the administration proposing to increase national defense spending to $1.5 trillion, Concord Action brought together two leading defense experts Wednesday to examine a central question: Does the proposed spending match America’s national security strategy, and can the country afford it?

During the virtual town hall, Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute and Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution discussed military readiness, munitions and emerging technologies, potential Pentagon savings and how defense fits into a federal budget already facing persistently large deficits.

Harrison stressed that even meaningful changes to defense spending would address only one piece of the nation’s larger fiscal imbalance, arguing that “defense can be part of the solution. It cannot be the solution.”

O’Hanlon similarly cautioned against expecting Pentagon efficiencies alone to fundamentally change the federal budget picture. “The savings are going to be in the hundreds of millions and low billions. Meanwhile, the defense budget is over a trillion. So you’ve got to be modest about what your expectations are,” he said.

The discussion underscored the challenge facing Congress: identifying the defense investments necessary to protect U.S. national security while confronting the much broader spending and revenue decisions required to put the federal budget on a sustainable path.

Watch the full discussion:

[Click here to watch on YouTube]