Military

Defense Infrastructure: Budget Estimates For 1996-2001 Offer Little Savings for Modernization (Letter Report, 04/04/96, GAO/NSIAD-96-131)

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of
Defense's (DOD) plan to offset increased spending for weapons systems
modernization with savings from a reformed acquisition process and
reduced and streamlined infrastructure.
GAO found that: (1) for the past several years, DOD has been in the
ongoing process of identifying and measuring its infrastructure funding;
(2) DOD accounting of its infrastructure expenditures may not be
complete because it excludes some infrastructure programs such as
intelligence, space, and command, control, and communications programs
from its infrastructure calculations; (3) between fiscal years (FY) 1996
and 2001, no significant savings will result from infrastructure reforms
because the proportion of infrastructure spending in DOD budgets will
remain constant; (4) DOD will have to reduce the operation and
maintenance and military personnel appropriations to generate the
infrastructure savings necessary to fund modernization efforts; and (5)
many opportunities to reduce and streamline DOD infrastructure could
generate savings to modernize weapon systems, reduce the deficit, and
address long-standing DOD financial management problems.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
 REPORTNUM:  NSIAD-96-131
     TITLE:  Defense Infrastructure: Budget Estimates For 1996-2001 
             Offer Little Savings for Modernization
      DATE:  04/04/96
   SUBJECT:  Defense cost control
             Future budget projections
             Defense economic analysis
             Defense procurement
             Budget cuts
             Financial management
             Defense budgets
             Federal agency reorganization
             Administrative costs
             Defense contingency planning
IDENTIFIER:  DOD Future Years Defense Program
             Defense Business Operations Fund