Defense spending said to fall billions short of needs

Defense spending is about $50 billion short of what will be needed to maintain the current force and operations over the next 15 years, according to a new study by the Congressional Budget Office.

The Pentagon's fiscal 2000 budget is $276 billion. CBO estimates that DoD will need an average of $327 billion annually over the next decade and a half just to meet its current requirements-including the same number of military bases and personnel.

CBO Director Dan Crippen told the Senate Budget Committee Thursday that annual Defense spending needed to increase in the following areas:

• Personnel, from $74 billion to $82 billion.
• Operations and maintenance, from $102 billion to $107 billion.
• Procurement, from $53 billion to $90 billion.
• Research and development, from $38 billion to $40 billion.

Also, the report noted, procurement spending could rise sharply if DoD retires weapons systems earlier than expected.

However, the study found savings are likely if the Pentagon cuts bases and uses more efficient business practices.