Explaining Analytical Methods
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How CBO Projects the Long-Term Costs of the Department of Defense’s Future Years Defense Program
Since 2003, CBO has projected the Department of Defense’s costs for the 10 to 15 years beyond those covered in the Future Years Defense Program’s five-year plan. This report describes some of the methods CBO uses to make those projections.
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The Cost of the Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter
CBO estimates that a three-ship Polar Security Cutter program would cost $5.1 billion in 2024 dollars—about 60 percent more than the Coast Guard’s current estimate. Operating those three ships would cost $12.4 billion through 2063.
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Acquisition Costs of the Navy’s Medium Landing Ship
CBO estimates that construction of 18 medium landing ships would cost between $6.2 billion and $7.8 billion in 2024 dollars. CBO’s estimates range from two to roughly three times the Navy’s current estimates.
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The Shipbuilding Composite Index and Its Rates of Change Compared With Economywide Inflation Rates
Between 1980 and 2022, the shipbuilding composite index grew an average of 1.2 percentage points faster per year than the GDP deflator did. Looking ahead, a gap of roughly 1 percentage point would be consistent with historical experience.
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How the Military’s Basic Allowance for Housing Compares With Civilian Housing Costs
CBO compares the housing standards used to determine the military’s basic allowance for housing (BAH) with the housing rented by comparable civilians. CBO also compares BAH rates with the rental costs paid by those civilians.
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Income of Working-Age Veterans Receiving Disability Compensation
CBO compared the earnings, personal income, and household income of working-age male veterans who received disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs with those of veterans who did not receive such payments.
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The Navy’s Costs to Eliminate Its Deferred Maintenance Backlog and to Renovate and Modernize Its Buildings
CBO estimates that eliminating the maintenance backlogs of roughly 20,000 buildings that the Navy uses and maintains in the United States would cost $17 billion. Renovating and modernizing the buildings would cost an additional $32 billion.
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Availability and Use of F-35 Fighter Aircraft: An Update
CBO reexamines the availability and use of the Department of Defense’s F-35 fighter aircraft and presents new findings on availability rates, flying hours, and effects of aging.
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U.S. Hypersonic Weapons and Alternatives
CBO analyzes the hypersonic missiles being developed by the U.S. military and compares them with less expensive existing or potential weapons that might fill similar roles, such as cruise missiles or ballistic missiles.
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Statement for the Record Regarding How CBO Would Estimate the Effects of Future Authorizing Legislation on Spending From the Toxic Exposures Fund
CBO’s Director, Phillip Swagel, provides a written statement to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs about how the agency would estimate the effects of future authorizing legislation on spending from the toxic exposures fund.