NAVY LEAGUE CALL TO ACTION TALKING POINTS 8/31/15

Background

The Budget Control Act of 2011 mandated $487 billion in security cuts over the next 10 years in order to resolve the 2011debt ceiling crisis. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have all had to delay planned acquisitions and technology investments in order to meet these cuts and still fulfill their commitments to our national security. However, even as the services found ways to manage these cuts and still achieve their missions, there is a larger threat looming on the horizon: sequestration. Sequestration is the name of the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over those already taken,about $500 billion of which will come from defense and security budgets, over the next ten years. These spending cutsare triggered if Congress does not produce a deficitreduction bill with at least $1.2 trillion in savings ($500 billion is not exactly half of $1.2 trillion due to discounts for the interest savings that would be achieved from the deficit reduction, plus inflation, so the general estimate is approximately $500 billion).

A bipartisan deal avoided sequestration for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 but that deal ends on September 30th, 2015. Sequestration will come back into full effect on October 1st unless the Congress repeals sequestration, agrees to a new budget deal, or passes a Continuing Resolution which would only delay the cuts rather than solve them. The appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives allocated needed funds into the Overseas Contingency Operations account which is not subject to sequestration. While this solves sequestration for defense for one year it is not a sustainable method and doesn’t solve the underlying issue with sequestration that mandating cuts does not solve our budget problems and allows the budget to drive our national priorities. Our security budget should be driven by our strategy, not the other way around.

Cuts will be equally split between security and non-security programs (security programs include those inside the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration, some intelligenceprograms, and international affairs from the Department of State). This means that defense would absorb half of the sequestration costs despite only being 19% of the spending budget. Cuts automatically wentinto effect on March 1st, 2013, with $42.7 billion in defense budget cuts in 2013 alone. To put that number in perspective, that’s more than Brazil’s entire military budget, the Disney company’s annual revenue, or cutting all DOD shipbuilding and maritime systems for two years (sources: Defense Comptroller site and globalsecurity.org ).

Sequestration was never intended to happen.The impactswere intended to beso devastating that Congress would be forced to reach an agreement to prevent the trigger.

Talking Points for meetings with Congressmen and civic groups

  • The Need for Sea Services. The Sea Services and other national security guarantors are necessary for national security, freedom of the seas, economic strength, humanitarian assistance, and technological investments. The Sea Services are vital during peacetime, and our investment in them should not be curtailed because they have secured peace for us.
  • National Security: The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard project American power, deter aggression, and are forward deployed to respond to any crisis, anywhere.
  • Freedom of the Seas: 90% of all trade travels by sea, and the sea services guarantee that freedom of movement. Americans are able to buy products at low cost, because the freedom of the seas is guaranteed by the sea services. The entire world benefits from the fact that the US Navy assures the Strait of Hormuz and other choke points will be kept open, ensuring the free flow of oil and other goods to all nations.
  • Economic Strength: Investments in national security programs create high-tech scientific, engineering, and manufacturing jobs for large companies and small suppliers alike—all American jobs. A study by Deloitte for the Aerospace Industry Association concludes that sequestration would lead to the loss of over one million American jobs. (secondtonone.org). The Congressional Budget Office concurred with that assessment, stating that full sequester relief could add as many as 1.4 million jobs and grow the economy by an additional one percent over the next two years.
  • Humanitarian Assistance: The U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have responded to an earthquake/tsunami/nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan, an earthquake in Haiti, and an earthquake in Pakistan on short notice. This type of support is integral to both global goodwill for the United States and our own sense of duty as Americans. The Sea Services are also assisting in fighting the wildfires raging in the western states. With fewer resources deployed, the U.S. will be limited in its ability to assist in future disaster response.
  • Technological Investments: Investing in research and development for the military services has led to technological leaps such as the invention of computers, the internet, jet engines,and GPS capabilities. Without continually pushing our technological edge forward, the U.S. may fall behind in the next great technological revolution.
  • Sequestration cuts willincrease the cost of programs overall. By placing restrictions on spending, the military is forced to slow down its procurement and acquisition process. Because fewer ships/planes/other programs are being bought at a time, the cost per ship/plane/program is driven up (similar to how items are cheaper when bought in bulk at Costco or Sam’s Club). Short term spending caps required across the Future Years Defense Plan (the five year defense spending projections) will increase long term costs.
  • Overall National Security Impact:
  • Our national security should not be built around our fiscal priorities, but around our need to protect freedom for Americans. Our allies around the world depend on our commitment to freedom.
  • The recently published Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapowerwould have to be tossed aside and an entirely new strategy built around limited resources. We would be forced to reevaluate our defense priorities and strategy. Our strategy must be based on the threat environment, not a budget line.
  • The only solution is a legislative solution. Congress must act soon to stop layoffs, preserve our national security, and demonstrate to our allies and our enemies that we are committed to being a force for good in the world.
  • Congress must compromise. We need our Congressional leaders to work together, across party lines, across regional lines, and across state lines to find a solution that will pass with majority support. This problem affects us all, and we need a bipartisan solution.
  • Putting funds into OCO does not solves the main problem and is not a sustainable solution. A budget driven strategy does not protect us from the threats that our country faces. The sea services need a stable budget environment in order to effectively plan and execute their missions.

On behalf of the 40,000 members of the Navy League of the United States, your support for holding the line on Sea Services funding and stopping sequestration is requested.