For those of you who hoped – or worried – that the Obama administration would mean a big cut to defense spending, think again.
The Office of Management and Budget " has approved a nearly $60 billion increase in the Pentagon's base budget between fiscal years 2011 and 2015," InsideDefense.com reports.
That includes an extra $15 billion for the next fiscal year – "a 2.7 percent increase after inflation. This boost "would bring non-war related military spending in FY-11 to $556.4 billion."
The decision isn't final - the President hasn't approved of it, yet. But if the extra cash is okayed, it won't be used to pay for more tanks or fighter jets, InsideDefense.com notes. "A sizable portion of the additional funds would pay for unforeseen DOD health care bills."
UPDATE: The Defense Department claims personnel costs will run about $136 billion. The Progressive Policy Institute's Jim Arkedis says that's way, way off. "The real price tag is much bigger: $301.1 billion each year, 121 percent higher than the Pentagon’s figure. In other words, if you want major savings in defense spending, cutting weapons systems and the ever-elusive 'waste, fraud and abuse' won’t take you far enough."
