Press Release
☷Comptroller Michael J McCord and Vice Adm Sara A Joyner Hold a Press Briefing on President Biden s Fiscal 2025 Defense Budget
U.S. Department of Defense ( By Press Release office)
Mar 15,2024
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Hey everyone , thanks for being here . I ' m Chris Sherwood from OSD Public Affairs . Today , we ' re talking about the Department of Defense ' s budget for Fiscal Year 2025 . We ' ve got Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller/CFO Michael J . McCord and Vice Admiral Sara A . Joyner here to give you the lowdown and answer a few questions . Feel free to ask your name and where you ' re from before asking your question . Keep it to one question and a follow - up . We ' ll give you a heads up when we ' re wrapping up . Without further ado , over to Mike McCord and Sara Joyner to break it down for you . Once again , everyone should have seen this coming - I think most people were expecting it , so we followed the law . This chart here doesn ' t have anything filled in for the supplemental in FY ' 25 . There ' s no supplemental attached to this budget . But we really want Congress to pass the supplemental that was sent last October , which is still pending . The Senate passed a great bill , but we need Congress to take action on it as a whole . I can talk more about it during the Q&A . I won ' t go on too long about the supplemental because technically it ' s not part of this budget , but it ' s crucial that we get something done . The United States extended a helping hand to Ukraine when they were attacked , and we shouldn ' t withdraw that support now . We really need that supplemental . Everything else in here closely follows last year ' s budget . The Fiscal Responsibility Act topline , as you know , is about a one percent increase from last year , which is less than the rate of inflation . So there ' s no positive real growth in this budget , but that was the intention of our elected officials who agreed on the topline last year . Alright , now let me quickly talk about the issue of continuing resolutions . I made this chart to explain it in a different way . Some of you may have heard me talk about this before . I ' m tired of complaining about it , but unfortunately , the problem continues . We ' ve been in a continuing resolution , where we can ' t make progress and can only maintain the status quo , for almost 1 , 800 days as of March 22nd . That ' s one third of the past 15 years . It ' s a dysfunctional and harmful pattern that needs to stop . I know it ' s not the fault of our appropriations committees or any specific defense issues causing the delays . It ' s the larger difficulty of making deals in Washington that ' s causing this slow behavior . The deputy secretary mentioned the importance of certainty , and having timely funding is just as crucial as having more funding . Years ago , people were already talking about the importance of certainty and not just more money . The Fiscal Responsibility Act was supposed to provide that certainty , but it hasn ' t really helped speed up the process for ' 24 . We ' re hopeful it will for ' 25 . Looking at the chart , you can see how the budgets have changed over the years . The latest budget for ' 25 has taken a hit due to the Fiscal Responsibility Act , but we ' re aiming to get back on track in the following years . Moving on to the next chart on end strength , it ' s important to remember that our people are what drive this department , not just the numbers on the chart . Our end strength is slightly decreasing , but it ' s nothing drastic compared to where we ' re projected to be in the near future . Despite some challenges in recruiting , retention has been strong . The overall picture for the manning side has been a bit mixed , but we ' re still maintaining the lowest unemployment rate in history for the all - volunteer force . Most people are aware that recruiting talent in the Defense Department can be challenging due to the many opportunities available to potential recruits . It ' s a good problem to have , but with low unemployment , it ' s definitely a challenge . Now , let ' s hear from Admiral Joyner about the key areas of capability that make up our integrated deterrence and military power . This budget is all about making sure our defense systems are up to date and ready to handle any threats that come our way . We ' re focusing on improving communication for senior leaders , investing in missile defense capabilities , and developing long - range weapons to keep our adversaries at bay . We ' re also putting a lot of money into space capabilities to protect our assets and maintain our advantage in space . Overall , this budget is about staying ahead of the game and ensuring we can defend against any potential threats . In 2025 , the budget for cyber activities is focusing on making modest investments in three main areas: cybersecurity , cyberspace operations , and cyber research and development . The cybersecurity budget will be used to improve our cyber defenses by funding the development and modernization of tools and capabilities , as well as investing in zero trust technology to protect our data . The cyberspace operations budget will prioritize training and readiness for the Cyber Mission Force , expanding outreach to allies and partners , and enhancing access and infrastructure . The research and development budget will focus on developing emerging cyber technologies , as well as A . I . and machine learning capabilities . These investments are crucial for our national defense and are a top priority in our budget . The Joint Force is being prepared for both current and future battles , with a focus on maintaining readiness while also modernizing our capabilities . The overall goal is to ensure that we are prepared to respond to any strategic challenge . Now , I ' ll hand it back to Mr . McCord to discuss further budget priorities . So , basically , we ' ve got the P&D Deterrence Initiative , which is just a fancy way of saying what we ' re doing in these areas . We ' ve got about 9 . 9 billion for Pacific Deterrence and 4 . 2 billion for European Deterrence . One big thing in the Pacific is that we ' ve got 500 million for Taiwan . In terms of building lasting advantages , we ' re focusing on taking care of our people and making sure we have a strong institution . We ' re giving the troops a 4 . 5% pay raise and civilians a 2% raise . Overall , we ' re trying to make sure everyone is taken care of in the long run . Just want to mention a couple things about compensation . The Authorization bill has been pushing for a basic needs allowance for junior enlisted members and their families . Congress has been revisiting this issue and in this budget , we ' re proposing to increase the income threshold to qualify for this allowance from 150% to 200% of the poverty level . On the other hand , we ' re also continuing to prioritize initiatives like childcare , suicide prevention , and sexual assault prevention . We ' re building on previous efforts in these areas . Additionally , there ' s a focus on innovation and agility in the budget , with an emphasis on getting faster and better results . The RDER program and Office of Strategic Capital are new priorities that aim to speed up experimentation and interaction with smaller vendors . So , we ' ve made progress on step one of the NDAA that passed in December . If the appropriations bill gets the funding we need in the next two weeks , we ' ll be good to go . We ' ve already got a head start with the authorities from the NDAA . The Replicator Initiative and RDER are also in the works . The industrial base strategy is focusing on key technologies like microelectronics and critical materials . We ' re still waiting on funding for missiles and munitions , as well as Ukraine supplementals to replenish inventories . Hopefully , we can get everything sorted out in the next two weeks to move in the right direction . It felt a bit unrealistic to dive into new things considering our current situation . Let ' s quickly go over the last few slides . The next slide is about the business side of the institution ' s health , including audits and other performance improvements . I believe that our DOD strategic management plan will also be posted today by a different office , possibly through the same link on our website . Not my office is not in charge of that , but there ' s more detail on various management priorities in another document that you should see today . Another topic I want to touch on is the installation side . As many of you know , we finally got our FY ' 24 military construction family housing funding approved and signed by the president on Saturday . So , as I like to say , we ' ve got 2 percent of our top line down . We still have 98 percent to go in the Defense appropriations bill . You have to start somewhere , but we appreciate that and we continue to prioritize both quality of life and the mission side . Speaking of the submarine industrial base , we ' re also investing in it through acquisition and operating accounts , focusing on the workforce and supply chain , as well as infrastructure . Many of you are familiar with the ongoing Navy shipyard investment plan , which is a big investment this year . That ' s the infrastructure aspect of the submarine maintenance industrial base , along with family housing and barracks . We ' re also hoping for expanded investment in Indo - Pacific infrastructure , which is part of our overall war fighting and operational plan for that theater . So , with that , we ' re ready to answer your questions . The strategy , framework , and funding levels align with what you would have expected based on the top line set and our consistent direction over the past couple of years . So , with Replicator , programming might not be necessary in ' 25 because we ' re proposing it in the budget . Our hope for ' 24 is that the committees will work with us to secure funding in the appropriations conference . If that happens , we won ' t need to re - program . But if we can ' t get the funding in , then re - programming will be our approach . If we ' re talking about operations in CENTCOM , like the Navy ' s undertaking , the quickest way to get help is through the Senate ' s supplemental , which has funding for Central Command ' s response costs . This funding can cover operating costs and munition replacements . We had the opportunity to work with the committees on this after submitting a supplemental in October , but it took a while for it to be acted on . So now we ' re hoping to get the funding across the line to start replenishing stockpiles or covering operating costs . The Army and Air Force have similar issues in EUCOM . Overall , the supplemental is the fastest way to address the costs we ' ve been incurring since October 1 . On the procurement budget , there were reductions in the Virginia Class and F - 35 programs compared to last year ' s projections . Can you address both of those? Were those just because of budget constraints , or were there other factors like delivery schedules and software problems? And for the admiral , can you give any specific details on where the investments were focused this time? I asked Admiral Grady and he gave a general answer , but since you handle the budget specifically , I wanted to ask you . In terms of procurement , last year ' s plan had to be adjusted due to budget cuts , with the largest reduction happening in that area . Hopefully , you can find more information in the DOD press release .
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