2015 US Budget Proposal Not Likely Until Late February
The US government is not likely to unveil its 2015 spending plan
until late February at the earliest, according to budget experts.
The
White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is preparing to send
the Pentagon its 2015 “passback guidance” as soon as this week,
according to DoD officials and defense observers. The guidance, which
includes specific budget and policy marching orders, is one of the final
steps before the Obama administration sends its 2015 spending plan to
Congress.
After receiving the passback guidance, a final round of
negotiations will commence between OMB and DoD on specific items within
the budget.
Historically, the negotiations during this period
center around the budget’s top line, the total dollar amount allotted
for DoD. Since the bipartisan budget deal – approved by lawmakers and
signed by President Obama late last month – caps DoD’s 2015 base budget
request at $521 billion, top line negotiations should not be an issue
this time around, said Gordon Adams, who ran defense budgeting at OMB
during the Clinton administration and is now a professor at American
University.
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