A new report warns Congress that the U.S. could struggle to win or might even lose a war against China or Russia, because America's military has "failed to keep pace with changing security challenges." One reason, according to the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission, is that military planners have to deal with a budget that shifts unpredictably from one year to the next.
President Donald Trump has said he wants to subtract $33 billion from the $733 billion budget for 2020. The Defense Department could cut $33 billion without imperiling the nation's safety. But the larger problem is the military has to guess every year how much money it will have to spend. This makes long-term planning almost impossible.
How to get the military off the roller coaster: Congress could guarantee the Pentagon a consistent annual raise of, say, 3 percent or so above inflation for five to 10 years. Defense planners would have to give up any expectation of big single-year bonanzas. But the consistency would be worth it.
Editorial on 11/20/2018