Preparing for a Deep Defense Drawdown: The Defense Drawdown Working Group (DDWG) and the "Cost-Capped" Methodology

The Budget Control Act of 2011 (enacted in August 2011) mandated caps on national security and domestic spending (BCA caps) totaling $1 trillion over 10 years and created a sequester mechanism imposing another $1.2 trillion over 9 years if triggered (on 2 January 2013) by Congress' failure to reach a bipartisan solution (via a "super committee" process) by the end of 2011 or a "grand bargain" compromise. The total bill for the Department of Defense (DoD) is $487B in FY2012-2021 and $475B in FY2013-2021. This would bring the defense budget top line from its post-9/11 peak of $735B (in constant FY2013 dollars) to $510B, which is a 31% decline and comparable to past drawdowns of 33-43%.

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Clark A. Murdock

Clark A. Murdock

Former Senior Adviser (Non-resident), International Security Program

Clark Murdock