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Quick Analysis of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Appropriations Bill

On August 2, by a 30 – 0 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $604.5 billion for defense, $511.2 billion in the base budget and $93.3 billion for the wars.

This amount is $26 million less than that approved for Fiscal Year 2012, largely because of declining war costs.

According to Congressional Quarterly, the committee transferred $5.9 billion to the war budget to permit them to fund more ships and other programs. The committee reversed the Navy’s proposal to retire seven cruisers and two amphibious ships and added $800 million to Air Force programs.

Committee recommendation for Fiscal Year 2013 by title
$127,502,463,000 – Title I—Military personnel  
$170,785,490,000 – Title II—Operation and maintenance
$  97,635,496,000 – Title III—Procurement
$  69,091,078,000 – Title IV—Research, development, test and evaluation  
$    2,214,024,000 – Title V—Revolving and management funds  
$  35,013,758,000 – Title VI—Other Department of Defense programs  
$   1,056,346,000 – Title VII—Related agencies  
$      319,345,000 – Title VIII—General provisions (net)
$ 93,026,000,000 – Title IX—Overseas Contingency Operations

$604,458,000,000 – Total discretionary

Some committee items of interest:

  • $483 million for the main Navy research and development account for the Ohio replacement strategic nuclear submarine, the Administration request
  • $292 million for research into a new long range strike bomber, the Administration request
  • $903 million for the Ground Based Mid Course missile defense system, the Administration request and $75 million less that the House approved.
  • $200 million for prompt global strike, an increase of $90 million from the Administration request.
  • $269 million for Israeli missile defense systems, an increase of $169 million from the Administration request.
  • $30 million for the Sea Based X-Band radar for missile defense, an increase of $20 million from the Administration request
  • 381 million for Medium Extended Air Defense System [MEADS], a reduction of $20 million from the request (Other committees refused to fund).
  • $467 million for Space Based Infrared System [SBIRS] High, an increase of $18 million from the Administration request
  • $275 million for counter proliferation initiatives, the Administration request
  • $992 million for the Aegis missile defense system, the Administration request
  • $519 million for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Initiative non-proliferation program, the Administration request

    (Language provided by Congressional Quarterly)

  • Committee report language: “The committee believes that instead of correcting years of poor fiscal discipline, the department chose to make substantial reductions in force structure and take risk in meeting U.S. military commitments around the globe.”
  • Committee report language: “This lack of oversight [of acquisition programs] within the department must be corrected”
  • Committee report language: “The committee understands fact-of-life changes will occur after the budget is approved by Congress and provides significant flexibility in general and special transfer authority to account for these unanticipated changes. However, the number of reprogrammings, dollar amounts, and significant increase of requests to start new programs outside the normal budget cycle that do not receive the same level of oversight, scrutiny and documentation, is disconcerting.”

    The bill is not expected on the Senate floor before the election.

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