Federal agencies spent over $500 billion for contracted products and services in 2012, according to federal data. Between 2000 and 2012, such spending grew more quickly than inflation and also grew as a percentage of total federal spending.

In order to deter conflict or fight in wars if necessary, the Navy aims to maintain a forward presence—to keep some ships far from U.S. shores in areas that are important to national interests. If the Navy cannot afford to implement its shipbuilding plan, it can sustain its forward presence by...

The total costs of carrying out the Navy’s 2015 shipbuilding plan—an average of about $21 billion per year (adjusted for inflation to 2014 dollars) over the next 30 years—would be one-third higher than the funding that the Navy has received in recent decades, CBO estimates. The Navy would...

CBO estimates the Administration’s plans for nuclear forces would cost $348 billion for the Departments of Defense and Energy for 2015–2024, a figure close to its 2013 estimate of $355 billion for the 2014–2023 period. Although those 10-year totals are similar, CBO projects DoD’s costs...

CBO projects that the Department of Defense’s plans would cost an average of $47 billion per year more from 2015 through 2021 than would be provided under the limits established by the Budget Control Act. CBO’s estimate of costs for that period is $17 billion per year higher than DoD’s...

The Department of Defense's (DoD's) base budget increased by 31 percent (adjusted for inflation) between 2000 and 2014, mainly because of higher costs for military personnel and operation and maintenance. Adjusted to exclude inflation, funding for military personnel grew by 46 percent despite a...