Maybe not the $534 billion the Obama administration asked for, but certainly more than the $499 billion limit under current spending caps.
The House Armed Services Committee chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, argues DoD needs $541 billion to meet its strategic obligations.
The chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., agrees defense needs more money, but says that spending caps are law and can't be broken.
And that's the issue: the Budget Control Act, which lawmakers appear uninterested in scrapping.
Meanwhile, DoD says it won't issue a list of what it would cut if it doesn't get fully funded, a move that would leave key decisions to a Congress that has stood in the way of necessary moves like closing bases, ending wasteful programs or other reforms.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter has vowed to make the Pentagon more efficient, but $35 billion is too big a shortfall to cover through efficiencies alone in one budget year. Without more money, programs, readiness and strategy will have to be dialed back as the Pentagon fights terrorism and the Islamic State, and faces Russian aggression and a rising China.
If Congress isn't going to boost defense spending, strike a budget deal that lifts spending caps or give DoD more freedom in making smart budget choices, the Pentagon must fight to ensure that the right priorities survive.
