WASHINGTON (CLARKSVILLENOW) – On Monday Feb. 12, President Donald Trump sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year 2019 budget request of $716 billion for national security, $686 billion of which is for the Department of Defense (DoD).
In addition to funding for aircraft, shipbuilding, ground systems, missile defense programs, and munitions, the budget proposal includes funds to support service members and their families.
The proposal outline released by DoD requests a 2.6 percent military pay raise for service members, the largest increase in nine years.
Under the proposal, more than $8 billion would also be devoted to spousal/community support, child care for approximately 1 million military children, DoD schools, commissary operations, and counseling support for service members and their families.
“In a world awash in change, with increasing threats, there is no room for complacency,” Defense Secretary Mattis said. “Failure to implement or fund the 2018 National Defense Strategy will leave us with a force that could dominate the last war, yet be irrelevant to tomorrow’s security. For too long we have asked our military to carry on stoically with a success-at-any-cost attitude.”
The entire budget proposal can be viewed online.