Total US National Security Spending, 2023-2024
($billions; Then-Year$, Budget Authority)
(Sources: OMB Table 24-1 from Analytical Perspectives and https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/DHS%20FY%202024%20BUDGET%20IN%20BRIEF%20%28BIB%29_Remediated.pdf.)
|
National Security Program |
2023 as Enacted |
2024 as Requested |
Comments |
|
DOD Budget (Discretionary Appropriations) |
848.8 |
842.0 |
The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) gave rise to several gimmicks to escape budget controls and to manipulate public perception. Among those was the use of the term “base budget,” which purportedly contained all routine, peacetime expenses while excluding war related “emergency” costs. DOD and Congress loaded tens of billions of such “base” spending into the emergency Overseas Contingency Operations fund for ostensibly declared wartime expenses. The “emergency” OCO spending designation was convenient as it overruled the budget ceilings of the BCA. The BCA has now expired altogether, and misuse of the term “base budget” to lower apparent, but not real, spending levels has diminished. This category includes spending for the US intelligence community, including DIA, CIA, NSA and several others, but not including any intelligence functions in the State Department, Coast Guard or DHS, which are included below. The 2023 column includes large amounts of aid to Ukraine; additional requests for Ukraine in 2024 will be in supplementals not yet included in this table. Do not confuse this amount with DOD Appropriations bills as some frequently do; those bill do not include Military Construction and - sometimes – other DOD costs. |
|
DOD Budget (Mandatory) |
11.4 |
21.5 |
DOD and the press often do not count this “mandatory” spending, mostly for concurrent receipt retirement costs, in budget presentations; this exclusion results in an understatement of DOD expenses. |
|
DOD Budget (Total) |
860.2 |
863.5 |
“Total” spending is discretionary and mandatory combined. This total constitutes budget subfunction 051 in its entirety. Many in Congress have declared their intent to increase this total. Given recent history, they are likely to succeed. |
|
Supplementals |
Included above. |
To come. |
Additional requests for Ukraine, weather damage to military bases and other DOD expenses that are actually unforeseen will be added during the upcoming calendar year. |
|
DOE/Nuclear Discretionary Mandatory Total |
31.6 2.2 33.8 |
32.8 3.0 35.8 |
For nuclear weapons activities. |
|
“Defense-related activities” Discretionary Mandatory Total |
11.0 0.6 11.6 |
11.5 0.6 12.1 |
This spending is for international FBI activities, the Selective Service, the National Defense Stockpile and other miscellaneous defense activities. |
|
National Defense (Total) |
905.5 |
910.8 |
This is the Total 050 “National Defense” budget function. It is sometimes confused as Pentagon-only spending. This spending generally equates with the money authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) from the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. |
|
Additional Military Retirement Costs DOD Contribution Trust Fund Interest Net Result |
74.2 -39.5 -68.8 -34.1 |
78.2 -45.6 -51.7 -19.1 |
This category shows additional Treasury payments for military retirement. Deducted are interest earned by the Military Retirement Trust Fund and contributions from the DOD military personnel budget. The data for the amounts shown here are in subfunctions 602, 902 and 950. As DOD-unique spending they should be displayed as part of the DOD budget, but are not. The calculation does not always result in a negative number. |
|
DOD Retiree Health Care Fund DOD Contribution Net Result |
12.2 -10.0 2.2 |
13.1 -10.9 2.2 |
Shown are costs to the Treasury for the DOD health care program in subfunction 551 and offsetting transfers from DOD in subfunction 950. As DOD-unique spending, they should be displayed as part of the DOD budget. |
|
Net Total DOD-related Spending |
873.7 |
893.9 |
This sum nets out the National Defense function total with the alterations shown for military retirement and DOD Retiree Health Care. |
|
Non-DOD National Security costs are shown below. |
|
|
|
|
Veterans Affairs (Total) |
303.9 |
320.8 |
These function 700 costs have increased significantly over the past decade because of the veterans’ costs from the wars against Iraq, Afghanistan and many other places in the Global War On Terror (GWOT). Current expenses greatly exceed the estimates made for them a decade ago. |
|
International Affairs (Total) |
42.8 |
46.4 |
Including overall budget function 150 costs for the State Department argues they are all national security costs. |
|
Homeland Security (Total) |
101.6 |
103.2 |
DHS budgets are complex; CRS has an analysis of the 2024 request at https://sgp.fas.org/crs/homesec/R47496.pdf. Displayed data are from DHS FY 2024 Budget in Brief (BIB) and are not show in OMB Table 24-1. DHS budget materials did not readily identify costs for homeland security from DOD, State and the VA; this contrasts to past DHS budget presentations. This row might include an unknown amount of double counting. DHS has been asked to explain; no reply has been received. |
|
National Security share of Interest on the Debt |
125.7 |
146.0 |
Total On-Budget Federal Outlays are estimated at $6.4 trillion in 2023 and $6.9 trillion in 2024. Total gross interest paid for Treasury debt is $897.7 billion in 2023 and $1006.9 billion estimated for 2024. The calculable share of national security spending relative to total federal spending is 14% for 2023 and 14.5% 2024. |
|
Grand Total |
1,447.7 |
1,510.3 |
|
Attachment:
Wheeler Table for 2024.docx
Description: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document