The President's FY '26 National Defense Budget requests $1.01 trillion, a 13% increase from FY '25 levels. This includes $848.3 billion for the Defense Department's discretionary budget and $113.3 billion in mandatory funding. The defense budget process is complicated this year due to dependencies on both the FY 2026 Appropriations Bill and the FY 2025 reconciliations bill. Historically, DoD has operated under continuing resolutions, disrupting spending and planning, especially during presidential transitions.
The President's FY '26 National Defense Budget requests $1.01 trillion, which is a 13 percent increase from FY '25 enacted levels. This includes $848.3 billion for DoD's discretionary budget and $113.3 billion in mandatory funding for DoD.
The final defense budget figure depends not only on passage of the FY 2026 Appropriations Bill, but also on the FY 2025 reconciliations bill, indicating complications in budget approvals.
For 11 of the past 12 fiscal years, DoD has had to operate under continuing resolutions, causing issues with spending levels, new projects, and production schedules.
When there are presidential transitions, the budgeting process becomes more complicated, impacting defense planning and the timely approval of necessary appropriations.
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