1995 Defense Budget

GAO reviewed the Defense Department's fiscal year 1995 budget request and prior years' appropriations for research, development, test, and evaluation and procurement programs. GAO's review found that schedule delays, changes in program requirements, and issues that have arisen since the defense budget request was developed provide the opportunity to trim the funding levels for fiscal year 1995 by about $2.3 billion as well as for prior years' appropriations by about $1.3 billion. GAO also identified amounts that Congress may want to restrict for obligation until specified criteria are met. Of the totals, GAO identified nearly $844 million in potential budget reductions to the military's research, development, test, and evaluation budget request for fiscal year 1995. GAO also found potential rescissions of about $115 million to prior years' appropriations.

GAO found that: (1) schedule delays, program requirement changes, and program uncertainties have affected RDT&E funding requests for 1995 and prior FY appropriations; (2) potential DOD budget reductions totalled $2.3 billion and rescissions to prior year appropriations totalled about $1.3 billion; (3) potential reductions and rescissions to the services' RDT&E programs totalled $843.7 million and $114.8 million, respectively; and (4) potential reductions and rescissions to the services' procurement programs totalled $1.45 billion and $1.17 billion, respectively.