SPECIAL REPORT / THE 2016 BUDGET PROPOSAL“What’s at risk of not being
approved? A lot, because it exceeds
the budget cap,” said Todd
Harrison, a defense budget analyst
at the Center for Strategic and
Budgetary Assessments, a Wa -
shing ton think tank. “So far, they
[DoD] have not given to Congress
what they would want to be cut if
they have to live within the budget
caps. That creates a high degree of
uncertainty, because you don’t
know what the appropriators might
do. It’s not looking good for DoD
that they’re going to get anything
close to what they are requesting.
Just about everything in the Navy
budget is at some level of risk of
being cut this year.”
The BCA has created a tension
between the so-called “defense
hawks” and the “budget hawks,”
often the same people, he said.
“There appears to be more Re -
publicans than you might expect
[who] are actually pretty happy
with the Budget Control Act and what it’s done to gov-
ernment spending and the deficit,” Harrison said. “Any
effort to increase defense spending above the budget
caps is going to have to be paid for by offsetting cuts
elsewhere or higher revenues. I don’t think you’re
going to get the president and Democrats to agree to
offsetting cuts elsewhere in the budget, and I don’t
think you’re going to get the Republicans to agree to
tax increases. That’s why it’s a real possibility that we
will be stuck at the budget cap level.”
“There’s a lot of opposition to taking those caps off,”
Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the House Armed
Services seapower and power projection forces subcom-
mittee, told Seapower. “At the same time, there are a lot
of people in Congress who realize how devastating those
caps and sequestrations are to the national defense of this
country. I am hoping we are able to succeed in getting
those caps off.
“By and large, this is a good budget if it stands for
the Navy,” Forbes said. “From a programmatic view, we
feel it’s pretty good. It covers most of the programs that
we’ve been concerned about.”
The 2016 Navy Department budget proposal
includes $50.4 billion for operations and maintenance,
$46.0 billion for personnel, $44.4 billion for procure-
ment, $17.9 billion for research and development and
$2.2 billion for infrastructure, representing increases in
all five appropriation groups.
Ships
The nine proposed new-construction ships — funded
with $14.3 billion — include two Virginia-class attack
submarines (SSNs) for $3.3 billion, plus $2 billion for
advance procurement; two Arleigh Burke-class guided-
missile destroyers (DDGs) for $3.2 billion; three littoral
combat ships (LCSs) for $1.4 billion; the first T-AO(X)
new-generation fleet oiler for $674 million; and com-
pletion funds of $550 million for the 12th San Antonio-
class amphibious transport dock ship (LPD), for which
$1 billion was enacted in 2015. Also funded are five
Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) 100-class ship-to-
shore connectors and service life extensions for four
older LCACs.
A provision of $693 million would allow the Navy
to complete refueling and comprehensive overhaul of
USS George Washington, meaning it can maintain 11
aircraft carriers in service. The Navy requests $2.5 bil-
lion for new aircraft carriers (CVNs), including $1.
billion for the second Gerald R. Ford-class CVN, John
F. Kennedy , and $875 million for advance procurement
of the third, Enterprise.
The new ship totals for the Future Years Defense
Plan, or FYDP, 2016-2020 include John F. Kennedy , one
America-class amphibious assault ship, 10 Virginia-class
SSNs, 10 DDGs, nine LCSs, five new frigates, one LX(R)
amphibious warfare ship, one afloat forward-support
base ship, four T-AO(X) fleet oilers, five fleet ocean tugsW W W. S E A P O W E R M A G A Z I N E. O R G S E A P O W E R / A P R I L 2 0 1 5 13
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus testifies before the Senate Appropriations
defense subcommittee on the proposed Navy budget for fiscal 2016 on
Capitol Hill March 4. Mabus said he would “do everything I can to protect ship-
building” if cuts were necessary in the spending request to bring it within
Budget Control Act of 2011 caps.U.
S.
NAVY