[ad_1]
PResident Trump has ordered that the overall national defense budget for next year be brought down from a projected $ 733 billion to $ 700 billion, said Friday the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Pat Shanahan.
Shanahan said the order to cut the budget by 4.5% last week had essentially prompted the Pentagon to create two separate budget proposals for the 2020 fiscal year based on its higher initial plan and the new lower figure of the White House. The new number for 2020 represents a $ 16 billion reduction from the level authorized for the 2019 fiscal year.
The Pentagon is in the final stages of creating an annual spending proposal that must be approved by the President's Office of Management and Budget and submitted by the President to Congress in February.
Trump surprised analysts this month by citing a $ 700 billion defense budget. It was not clear whether he was talking about all the defense spending or the Pentagon budget, 701 billion dollars out of the 733 billion planned for 2020.
The higher total defense budget includes spending on positions such as the nuclear arsenal and law enforcement.
Shanahan confirmed at a Friday appearance at the conference of journalists and military editors that the president was talking about a much smaller budget for national defense.
According to analysts, a total budget of $ 700 billion for defense would reduce planned spending by 4.5% when inflation is taken into account, which would complicate the task of the Pentagon to modernize after an injection of expenditure from both sides. last years.
The reduction would be in line with Trump's recently announced plan, known as the "nickel plan", which aims to reduce all federal spending areas by 5%.
[ad_2]
Source link
