Trump's navy build-up comes with steep price tag

[nitpicker]

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/314311-trumps-navy-build-up-comes-with-steep-price-tag

Trump's navy build-up comes with steep price tag

By Kristina Wong - 01/16/17 07:22 PM EST

President-elect Donald Trump wants to expand the Navy's fleet to 350 ships, the largest build-up since the end of the Cold War. But where that money will come from is unclear and defense contractors aren't counting their ships yet.

Experts say that going from the current fleet of 274 ships to Trump's 350 goal will cost about $165 billion over 30 years. And it will be impossible to achieve unless there's a dramatic increase in the defense budget, currently at $619 billion. Navy budget expert Ronald O'Rourke said the $165 billion price tag does not include broader costs such as staffing the ships, maintenance and operations. "The cost to build the ships is just a fraction of this larger number," O'Rourke, a Congressional Research Service analyst, told The Hill. "It's some much more substantial amount of money that would be needed."

There are expectations on Capitol Hill and within the Pentagon that Trump will substantially increase the defense budget. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (Texas), the chairmen of the Armed Services Committees, are preparing a 2018 defense budget plan of about $640 billion, according to a source close to the House panel. And the Navy added more ships to its 30-year shipbuilding plan after Trump's election.
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However, there are key obstacles to raising defense spending. The first is the 2011 Budget Control Act, which imposed budget ceilings on defense spending after Congress failed to agree on tax and spending reform. The ceilings are referred to as sequestration, or sequester, and go through 2021. Overturning the bill would require the new GOP-led Congress to pass a new law, which would be a daunting task, if members can't agree on how to otherwise reduce the deficit.

The only other option for Republican leaders in Congress is comprising with Democrats to lift the defense budget ceilings for several years at a time -- which Congress has done since the ceilings began in 2013. But Democrats have only been willing to raise the ceilings on defense if non-defense spending is raised as well. Senate Democrats can also still filibuster any GOP plan to raise defense spending, as in previous years.

[democratisphere]

1. I'm sure "Gina" will be happy to fund drumpf's boat building spree

and I'm more certain "Gina" will be happy to repossess them when we default. Who the hell is going to pay for boats, walls, taxcuts, infrastructure builds, Trumpcare, etc.?

[JayhawkSD]

2. To put this into proportion.

A lot of big numbers being thrown around, but the net result is that it would increase the defense budget by less than 1% to do the increase.

Doesn't mean I think we should do it. I think the defense budget should be reduced, and probably by about 50% or so, but we cannot discuss anything intelligently without seeing things in proportion to reality.