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This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report--prepared at the request of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget--addresses some of the major defense issues likely to be debated during the second session of the 106th Congress. It includes a variety of options for altering the defense program that would affect force structure, modernization programs, personnel policies, and support activities. Some of those options would require additional funding to carry out; others would provide budgetary savings.

The specific policy options are drawn from many sources. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective and impartial analysis, the discussion of each option presents the cases for and against it. The inclusion or exclusion of a particular option does not represent an endorsement or rejection by CBO. As a nonpartisan Congressional staff agency, CBO does not make recommendations about policy.

This report is confined to activities funded through the budget function for national defense (function 050), which includes the atomic energy activities of the Department of Energy as well as the military functions of the Department of Defense. Spending and revenue options for a wide variety of federal activities can be found in CBO's Budget Options report, published in March 2000 (where some of these options also appeared).

This report was prepared by the staff of CBO's National Security Division, which is directed by Christopher Jehn. R. William Thomas served as overall coordinator for the volume and wrote Chapter 1 and much of the introductory material of Chapters 2 and 3. Deborah Clay-Mendez coordinated the options that appear in Chapter 4 and wrote much of the introductory material for that chapter. Estimates of costs and savings were prepared by the staff of the Defense, International Affairs, and Veterans' Affairs Cost Estimating Unit of CBO's Budget Analysis Division under the direction of Michael A. Miller. (A list of all CBO staff members who wrote or prepared cost estimates for the options in this report can be found in the appendix.)

Christian Spoor edited the report, and Leah Mazade proofread it. Cynthia Cleveland and Judith Cromwell typed and revised the drafts of the chapters and options. Kathryn Quattrone prepared the report for publication, and Laurie Brown prepared the electronic versions for CBO's World Wide Web site. Barry Anderson designed the cover.
 

Dan L. Crippen
Director
March 2000
 
 

ONE - INTRODUCTION

• Today's Security Environment: Fewer Forces and More Peacetime Operations
• Concerns About Military Readiness
• The Congress's Response
• The Structure of This Volume
• Some Limitations of This Volume

TWO - SIZING AND SHAPING U.S. FORCES TO MATCH THEIR MISSIONS

• Conventional Conflict Against a Major Regional Power
• Military Participation in Operations Other Than War

THREE - MODERNIZING WEAPON SYSTEMS AND COUNTERING EMERGING THREATS

• Aging Equipment
• Strategic Forces and Missile Defenses
• Other Emerging Threats and the Revolution in Military Affairs
• Ending or Slowing Some Acquisition Programs to Pay for New Initiatives

FOUR - SUPPORTING MILITARY FORCES: PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT, AND FACILITIES

• Resources and Readiness
• The Military Compensation Package
• Cash Compensation
• Health Care Benefits
• Other Noncash Benefits
• Requirements for Personnel
• Military Equipment and Facilities

APPENDIX - Contributors to This Volume
 

BUDGET OPTIONS
2-01	Increase the Attack Submarine Force to 68
2-02	Buy More Amphibious Ships
2-03	Preposition Equipment for Bombers at Forward Bases
2-04	Buy More JSTARS and Global Hawk UAVs
2-05	Increase the Aircraft Carrier Fleet to 14
2-06	Reduce the Number of Aircraft Carriers to Ten and Air Wings to Nine
2-07	Use Marine Corps Squadrons to Fill Out Navy Air Wings
2-08	Reduce Air Force Tactical Forces
2-09	Eliminate Two Army National Guard Combat Divisions
2-10	Increase Staffing Levels in Military Units
2-11	Create Additional Support Forces in the Active Army
2-12	Add Forces to the Active Army for Peace Operations
3-01	Buy More Current-Generation Fighter Aircraft for the Air Force
3-02	Buy Additional Integrated Mechanical Diagnostics Systems for Navy and Marine Corps Helicopters
3-03-A	Reduce U.S. Forces to START II Levels by 2007
3-03-B	Reduce Nuclear Delivery Systems Within Overall Limits of START II
3-04	Terminate Production of D5 Missiles After 2000
3-05	Reduce the Scope of DOE's Stockpile Stewardship Program
3-06	Fully Fund the Administration's Proposed Plan for National Missile Defense
3-07	Fully Fund the THAAD and Navy Theater Wide Missile Defenses
3-08	Establish a Space-Based Capability to Search For and Track Adversaries' Spacecraft
3-09	Increase Funding for Nuclear Nonproliferation Efforts in Russia
3-10	Buy an Additional MILSTAR Communications Satellite
3-11	Increase Funding for Tactical UAVs
3-12	Convert the Four Oldest Trident Submarines to Carry Conventional Land-Attack Missiles
3-13	Cut U.S. C-17 Costs and Create Common NATO Airlift
3-14	Cancel the Army's Comanche Helicopter Program
3-15	Cancel the Army's Crusader Artillery Program
3-16	Cancel the Army's Tank Upgrade Program
3-17	Reduce Procurement of the Virginia Class New Attack Submarine
3-18	Defer Purchases of the Marine Corps's V-22 Aircraft
3-19-A	Reduce Purchases of the Air Force's F-22 Fighter
3-19-B	Cancel Production of the Air Force's F-22 Fighter
3-20	Slow the Schedule of the Joint Strike Fighter Program
4-01	Modify Planned Pay Raises for Military Personnel
4-02	Increase Reliance on Selective Reenlistment Bonuses
4-03	Eliminate Differences in Pay Between Married and Single Service Members
4-04	Deny Unemployment Compensation to Service Members Who Leave Voluntarily
4-05	Increase Access to Care for Active-Duty Families at Military Treatment Facilities
4-06	Offer Comprehensive Health Coverage to Older Military Retirees
4-07	Offer a Nationwide Mail-Order Prescription Service to Older Military Retirees and Their Dependents
4-08	Downsize the Military Medical System
4-09	Revise Cost Sharing for Military Health Benefits
4-10	Have DoD and VA Purchase Drugs Jointly
4-11	Consolidate Military Personnel Costs in a Single Appropriation
4-12	Increase Housing Allowances to the Full Cost of Adequate Housing
4-13	Increase Competition Between DoD and Private-Sector Housing
4-14	Create Incentives for Military Families to Save Energy
4-15	Improve Military Families' Access to Child Care
4-16	Consolidate DoD Retail Activities and Increase Cash Compensation
4-17	Consolidate and Encourage Efficiencies in Military Exchange Activities
4-18	Eliminate DoD's Elementary and Secondary Schools
4-19	Cut Requirements for Pilots in Nonflying Positions
4-20	Restructure the Officer Corps
4-21	Increase Funding for Military Construction
4-22	Increase Funding for Real Property Maintenance
4-23	Close and Realign Additional Military Bases
4-24	Demolish Excess and Obsolete Structures
4-25	Apply Technology to Reduce the Cost of Operating Equipment
4-26	Change the Management and Pricing of Repairs
4-27	Consolidate Depot Functions and Close Some Facilities
TABLES
1.	U.S. Military Forces in Selected Fiscal Years, 1989-1999
2.	Average Ages of Selected Equipment

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