Lloyd Austin, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2023 Wash100 inductee, said the president’s fiscal year 2024 budget request of $842 billion for DOD includes multiyear procurement authorities and over $30 billion for the acquisition of critical munitions.
“We’re asking for more than $30 billion to further invest in the industrial base and to buy the maximum number of munitions that American industry can produce,” Austin told the House Appropriations Committee during a hearing Thursday.
He said the proposed defense budget reflects a 3.2 percent increase from the enacted funding level for FY 2023 and would enable the department to implement the 2022 National Defense Strategy and the administration’s National Security Strategy.
Through the budget request, the secretary said DOD is seeking over $61 billion to sustain air dominance; more than $48 billion to advance sea power; $33.3 billion for space programs; $11 billion for long-range fires; and $9.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative.
Austin cited his top priorities at the Pentagon as the challenges posed by Russia and China, persistent threats associated with Iran, North Korea and global terrorist groups and the country’s continued support to Ukraine.
