Emerging from World War II, the United States was quickly confronting a new and growing international threat. The Soviet Union, an ally of the U.S. during the war, began to establish its hegemony over Eastern Europe by assisting local communist parties in rising to power. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin believed a buffer of communist countries between the USSR and Western Europe would protect his country from future attacks. By 1948, thanks to the help of the USSR, seven East European countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia, had installed communist governments.
The Soviet Union asserted control over these satellite regimes with military might and trade agreements. Over one million Soviet troops remained in Eastern Europe after WWII and under Soviet compulsion, satellite states were forced to reorient their economies from the West to the East. The creation of these satellite states fueled the Red Scare, or the belief in the West that Stalin was intent on spreading communism across the globe.
The United States and its Western European allies became increasingly weary of the expansion of communism and rise of Soviet power. On March 5, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Fulton, Missouri to give what is known today as his “Iron Curtain'' speech. Churchill, who was victorious in WWII, but lost reelection, described the geo-political landscape as such: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” With President Truman at his side, Churchill explained the threat the Soviet Union and communism posed to a peaceful and stable world. In addition, Churchill’s speech coined the term “special relationship,” which he described as the powerful and unweaving alliance between the United States and Great Britain against all international threats.
On March 12, 1947, almost a year to the day after Churchill gave his Iron Curtain speech, President Truman outlined the Truman Doctrine before a joint session of Congress. The president argued that the U.S. was obliged to help “free peoples” in their fight against “totalitarian regimes,” because further authoritarianism in the world would “undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States.” The Truman Doctrine committed the United States to supporting all democratic nations under threat from authoritarian forces.
Recognizing the harsh new reality of the Soviets’ growing power and influence, President Truman proposed a reorganization of the U.S. military and the foreign policy establishment to make them more efficient and manageable. Crafted by the Republican-led Congress, the National Security Act of 1947 incorporated various defense agencies under a comprehensive structure. The legislation combined the War and Navy Departments and placed them under the newly created Defense Secretary, to be confirmed by the Senate. In addition, the act created the Air Force, the National Security Council and the CIA. The National Security Act would be amended in 1949 to put the various service secretaries under the Defense Secretary and to rename the entire bureaucracy the Department of Defense.
Today, the Department of Defense has realized many of the goals stated in the National Security Act. America’s Armed Forces and their unified commands coordinate their actions and provide the president with an array of options when called upon. Those in uniform are ready to protect America’s freedom and national interests whenever and wherever they are threatened. It is thanks to these patriots that generations of Americans have enjoyed peace and prosperity.
All these platitudes being said, the U.S. defense budget is out of control. In 2000, America spent over $294 billion on national defense. 10 years later, America’s national defense spending more than doubled to almost $700 billion. Under former President Trump, defense spending increased over 24% from $593 billion billion to $738 billion for FY2020. In addition, over the last 20 years, the only time U.S. defense spending has decreased is under the presidency of Barack Obama. From 2011 to 2015, defense spending decreased over 16% from $705,554 billion in 2011 to $589,659 billion in 2015, before rising again. Rather unfortunately, President Biden is not following the lead of his former running mate and has decided that defense spending needs to increase yet again.
At the end of May, the Biden White House released the broad details of the president’s budget proposal. Included in President Biden’s budget is a colossal $753 billion for national defense. This 2% increase in defense spending comes as President Biden has promised to end America’s longest war and remove all troops from Afghanistan by September. In addition, the president has said America will end “forever wars” and refocus America’s strength on combating authoritarianism around the globe.
To understand how outrageous President Biden’s defense budget is, let’s put it into context. The president’s entire discretionary budget for fiscal year 2021 is $1.5 trillion. Discretionary spending covers the funding for all federal agencies. Approximately half of Biden’s budget is being spent on the nation’s defense, or $753 billion. That compares to the $134 billion Biden has proposed for Health and Human Services, the $69 Billion the president has proposed for Housing and Urban Development and the $103 billion Biden has proposed for the Education Department.
There is an age old saying that budgets are moral documents. In general, this is true. Budgets tell us what is of most importance to their creator and what is of least importance to them. While President Biden is increasing spending on HHS (+23%), HUD (+15%), Education (+40%) and virtually every other institution that comprises the federal government, all this spending combined still lags behind the defense budget.
America needs to get serious about tackling the challenges we face at home. Even if President Biden’s bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal gets passed, there will still be a great deal of more investment needed in America’s soft infrastructure. It is far past time America makes a concerted effort to expand broadband access to all, confront climate change, improve America’s poorest schools, fight the opioid epidemic, and expand access to affordable housing.
If America is going to attack the challenges she faces on the homefront, an unprecedented amount of resources need to be dedicated to these issues. This is not to say that throwing money at the problems we face will solve all of our challenges, but by providing adequate resources, with sufficient oversight, America has a chance to improve the lives of all its citizens and extend its promise to those who have been left behind.
As we have seen in administration after administration, it is relatively easy to just increase the federal budget for every agency under the sun, as President Biden has proposed. This approach to spending faces little blowback from those in power because everyone can find something they support. However, even if you are under the impression that a budget deficit of $3 trillion for the 2021 fiscal year does not matter, Americans should ask if their hard earned tax dollars are being spent wisely.
Notoriously, the Defense Department is the only federal agency that has been unable to pass an independent audit. What this means is that the Defense Department is unable to show that they have been properly keeping track of their finances and assets. Independent auditors have found that the Defense Department made “improper payments” of $1.2 billion in 2018 and $957 million in 2017. Furthermore, an audit conducted by Ernst & Young in 2018 found that the Pentagon could not properly account for some $800 million in construction projects. In 2015, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction reported that the Defense Department could not account for $45 billion in funding for reconstruction projects in the country.
This financial mismanagement comes as the U.S. spends more on defense than the next twelve countries combined. On its own, the U.S. represents just under 40% of global military spending and according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China spends less than half what the U.S. does on defense, at around $252 billion in 2020. Following China, India is estimated to have spent $73 billion on defense in 2020 and Russia is estimated to have spent $62 billion.
Americans should also be aware that over half of the defense budget goes to private contractors, not U.S. troops. In fiscal year 2020, the Department of Defense increased contract spending nearly 10% from the prior year, to $445.5 billion. And, since fiscal year 2016, defense contract spending has increased by a whopping 45%. Lockheed Martin was the largest recipient of government funding in fiscal years 2020, receiving around $72 billion, followed by Raytheon at around $27 billion. To ensure this money keeps flowing to defense contractors, the industry has spent around $2.5 billion lobbying politicians in D.C. over the past two decades. These corporations do not have American’s best interest at heart. By law, they are solely focused on what is best for their bottomline and shareholder returns.
While running for president, Biden told the Military Times, “President Trump has abandoned all fiscal discipline when it comes to defense spending. We can maintain a strong defense and protect our safety and security for less.” What happened to that Joe Biden? Why is President Biden not cutting defense spending as he suggested he would? The time is long overdue for America to reallocate its precious resources away from defense and towards the reconstruction of our country. Not only is there enormous amounts of waste, fraud and abuse associated with the defense budget, but America does not need to spend more on defense than the next twelve countries combined. The only people that benefit from America’s exorbitant defense spending are the shareholders of defense contractors and politicians who lack political courage. Everyday Americans suffer as their tax dollars are siphoned into the hands of the wealthy, instead of helping them live the American dream. The defense budget is indefensible.
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