CSBA_20100720_评估可持续防御的选择.pdf

TestimonyThinking Smarter About DefenseJuly 2010Evaluating OptiOns fOr a sustainablE DEfEnsETodd HarrisonThis testimony was presented before the u.S.House of Representatives,Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,Submcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on July 20,2010.introductionAs the economy struggles to emerge from the deepest recession since the Great Depression,the federal government faces a dire fiscal situation.The budget deficit is projected to reach as high as$1.6 trillion in Fy 2010 due in no small part to increased spending on fiscal stimulus programs and a sharp reduction in tax revenues due to the recession.But underlying the current fiscal situation is a structural deficit that the economic downturn only exacerbated.A telling indicator of this is that one of the fastest-growing items in the budget is net interest on the national debt.Given current projections,before this decades end the federal government will spend more on net interest payments than on national defense for the first time in modern history.And as Congress and the administration focus more attention on reducing the deficit,all areas of the budget,including defense,will come under