According to White House budget documents released today, the Pentagon and related programs like nuclear warhead work at the Department of Energy are pegged at $740 billion for fiscal year 2021.  Speaking last week in advance of the budget rollout, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper suggested that following this path risked undermining his department’s ability to build a force consistent with the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy (NDS), arguing that “we need to get back to 3 to 5 percent real [inflation-adjusted] growth annually.”

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