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Clinton Reverses Decade Old Decline in Defense Budget

© Bryan Johnson

Few Americans realize that the U.S. defense budget has been cut each and every year since 1985. In fact, it is the only federal program that has been cut each and every year since 1985. These cuts, representing over $100 billion in inflation adjusted dollars are greater than those Congress has imposed on any other federal program. What once was one of America's largest budget items, the U.S. defense budget now fits squarely in the middle of most federal programs, falling behind in total spending such programs as Social Security and entitlements, including welfare.

While there certainly is a good case to be made that the defense budget should have decreased as Cold War commitments were reduced, the fact is, U.S. defense spending today is seriously jeopardizing America's ability to meet its national security needs. While the Clinton Administration has never supported the U.S. military, not monetarily nor through his actions -- after all, Clinton was the first President in Cold War history to eliminate the daily intelligence briefing by the National Security Council as well as the only President in modern times to forbid servicemen and women from wearing their uniforms in the White House while on duty -- President Clinton has recently been forced to bite his tongue and propose an increase in defense spending.

With U.S. planes and helicopters literally falling out of the sky because of a lack of maintenance and spare parts, as well as a lack of training, all the while U.S. forces being tasked more than ever with overseas deployments, Republicans in Congress have for years been asking the White House to support increased defense spending.

In the past, the White House has had no interest in spending more money on acquiring new, advanced weapons, increased training, better maintenance, or any of the other crucial programs needed to keep America's fighting forces at top readiness levels. In fact, the drawdown that occurred in the armed services between 1992 and 1997 cost the careers of tens of thousands of good sailors, soldiers, and airmen (this by the way is where the government payroll reductions have come from that Clinton refers to all the time. They have not come from civilian bureaucrats, those numbers have increased under Clinton).

Now, for the first time in nearly a decade, many of the armed forces are drastically falling behind their recruiting needs to meet their projected force levels in the future. Most reasonable people understand that recruitment provides the supply of new servicemen and women that will make up the bulk of the future force. Without it, the Army can not drive its tanks, the Navy cannot sail its ships, and the Air Force cannot fly its planes.

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