The impending end of the congressional recess means that defense authorization negotiations will soon be upon us. The $740 billion budget deal reached earlier in the summer means that the debate is no longer how much, but where? Kea Matory, director of Legislative Policy at NDIA says that the budget has a few quirks.
“$738 billion is great for FY20, but with the 740 for ’21, that’s actually a flattening if you look at the numbers and it doesn’t account for inflation in there,” Matory said. “Both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs have said that will require them to make some tough choices. They need 3-5% for modernization and that 2021 budget doesn’t allow for that.”
