When Defense Secretary Leon Panetta publicly outlined the 2013 defense budget proposal on Jan. 26, 2012, he revealed a topline Pentagon request – a $525 base budget – lower than last year’s request of $531 billion, but higher than the $518 billion appropriated by Congress for FY 2012. The 2013 request for overseas contingency operations, mostly in Afghanistan, is $88.4 billion, significantly lower than the FY 2012 appropriation of $115 billion; this is mostly due to the Iraq drawdown/.../
Like all budget proposals, Panetta’s presentation is the beginning, rather than the culmination, of a protracted debate among the White House, the legislature, and the American public – especially those representing the nation’s armed forces personnel. To help inform this debate, Todd Harrison, senior fellow for Defense Budget Studies at the non-partisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), has initiated an online survey that will allow current service members to weigh in with their preference for how the Pentagon might handle pay and benefits in future budgets.
“A lot is still to be determined,” said Harrison. “We’re trying to put real data into the debate, based on what people in the military think.” Service members can take the online survey at www.CSBAmilsurvey.org.