Defense and National Security
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Report
A Historical Survey of Ship Reactivations
May 14, 2018The Navy could use several approaches to increase the size of its fleet. This report focuses on reactivating decommissioned ships, drawing insights from past experiences that might inform lawmakers’ decisions about reactivating ships.
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How CBO Estimates the Cost of New Ships
April 27, 2018CBO regularly analyzes the Navy’s shipbuilding programs and produces its own estimates of the costs of new ships. CBO’s method relies on historical experience, with adjustments for rate, learning, acquisition strategy, and economic factors.
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Comparing a 355-Ship Fleet With Smaller Naval Forces
March 14, 2018CBO estimates that the costs of achieving a 355-ship Navy under two different approaches would average over $100 billion annually through 2047. Those scenarios are compared with two others that would cost less and involve a smaller fleet.
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Report
The Depot-Level Maintenance of DoD's Combat Aircraft: Insights for the F-35
February 16, 2018This report examines the depot-level maintenance experiences of aging combat aircraft currently in use by DoD and provides insights for the Congress and DoD to consider as the F-35 fleet enters service.
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Analysis of the Long-Term Costs of the Administration’s Goals for the Military
December 4, 2017CBO estimates that inflation-adjusted costs for the Department of Defense would climb from the $575 billion requested in 2018 to $688 billion in 2027 if DoD pursued goals that Administration officials have articulated for the military.
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Report
Approaches for Managing the Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2017 to 2046
October 31, 2017CBO estimates that the Obama Administration’s 2017 plans for nuclear forces would cost $1.2 trillion (in 2017 dollars) over the 2017–2046 period. CBO analyzed nine options that would reduce those costs or delay some of them.
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Approaches to Changing Military Health Care
October 11, 2017CBO examined possible changes to the Department of Defense’s Military Health System, analyzing the effects of those changes on the federal budget, the quality of military health care, and preparedness for wartime missions.
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Trends in the Department of Defense’s Support Costs
October 4, 2017Funding for support functions consumes more of the defense budget today than it did in the 1980s, CBO finds. The largest increases were in health care, DoD management, communications infrastructure, and the science and technology program.
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Report
Labor Force Experiences of Recent Veterans
May 16, 2017From 2008 to 2015, male veterans ages 22 to 44 who left active-duty service after September 2001 had experiences in the labor market similar to those of civilian men, although the youngest veterans had somewhat higher unemployment rates.
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Report
Costs of Building a 355-Ship Navy
April 24, 2017CBO estimates that construction costs to build a fleet of 355 ships would average $26.6 billion (in 2017 dollars) per year over the next 30 years, which is 60 percent more than what the Navy has spent on average over the past 30 years.
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An Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Final Future Years Defense Program
April 6, 2017The Obama Administration’s final defense plan called for base-budget funding averaging $540 billion (in 2017 dollars) from 2017 through 2021, but it would have reached almost $600 billion per year by 2032 under DoD’s cost assumptions.
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An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2017 Shipbuilding Plan
February 21, 2017CBO estimates that the cost of the Navy’s 2017 shipbuilding plan—an average of about $21 billion per year (in 2016 dollars) over 30 years—would be $5 billion higher than the average funding that the Navy has received in recent decades.
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Report
Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2017 to 2026
February 14, 2017CBO estimates that existing plans for U.S. nuclear forces would cost $400 billion over the 2017–2026 period—$52 billion more than CBO’s 2015 estimate for the 2015–2024 period, largely because modernization programs will be ramping up.
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Report
The U.S. Military’s Force Structure: A Primer
July 29, 2016The U.S. military’s capabilities and budget are determined primarily by its forces. This report describes each type of major combat unit’s structure, function, strengths and limitations, past usage, size, and cost.
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Long-Term Implications of the 2016 Future Years Defense Program
January 14, 2016The Department of Defense’s five-year plan calls for budgets averaging $534 billion (in 2016 dollars) from 2016 through 2020, but they would average $565 billion per year from 2021 through 2030 under the department’s cost assumptions.
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Report
Replacing Military Personnel in Support Positions With Civilian Employees
December 2, 2015The Defense Department could cut federal costs by replacing some military personnel in support positions with civilian employees. If DoD replaced 80,000 military personnel, it could eventually save $3.1 billion to $5.7 billion annually.
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Report
Preserving the Navy’s Forward Presence With a Smaller Fleet
March 13, 2015The Navy can sustain its forward presence under smaller shipbuilding budgets by using longer deployments, more overseas basing, and more rotating crews. But those methods would offset some of the savings and have other disadvantages.
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Growth in DoD's Budget From 2000 to 2014
November 20, 2014The Department of Defense’s base budget increased by 31 percent (adjusted for inflation) between 2000 and 2014, mainly because of higher costs for military personnel and operation and maintenance.
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Veterans' Disability Compensation: Trends and Policy Options
August 7, 2014From 2000 to 2013, the number of veterans receiving VA disability payments rose by nearly 55 percent, and spending for those benefits almost tripled. How might changes in VA’s disability compensation program affect the federal budget?
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Approaches to Reducing Federal Spending on Military Health Care
January 16, 2014Between 2000 and 2012, the cost of providing health care to service members, retirees, and their families increased by 130 percent (after adjusting for inflation). What approaches might curtail the growth in those costs?
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Approaches for Scaling Back the Defense Department’s Budget Plans
March 18, 2013The costs of the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) budget plans through 2021 would be much higher than the funding permitted under the Budget Control Act’s statutory caps. CBO examined four options to cut back on DoD’s forces and activities.
