Case Study
In 1990, Executive Branch and Congressional representatives met to revise the budget process and set limits on government spending. As a result, the President and Congress made far-reaching fiscal policy and budget decisions: President Bush abandoned his campaign promise against new taxes; General Powell overcame opposition to the smaller Base Force from Defense Secretary Cheney and the members of the Joint Chiefs; Congress stopped trying to reduce the deficit and instead imposed sharp limits on government spending; and, the United States entered a war which was paid for to a large extent by other nations.
These particular circumstances illustrate the processes by which defense budgets interact with national security strategy as well as the impact of the overall federal budget process on fundamental defense policies. This case follows the process and illustrates the partisan and bureaucratic politics, which often affect such decisions.
Topic Objectives
- To assess the shared responsibility for the budget between the President and Congress.
- To assess the relationship between the Pentagon's proposals and the legislative-executive negotiations on a comprehensive budget package.
Questions for Consideration
- Why did General Powell take the lead in forcing the Pentagon to develop the Base Force?
- Why didn't the Defense Department develop the base force as part of the annual budget review?
- What were Secretary Aspin and Senator Nunn trying to do by their budget proposals?
- Why did President Bush drop his campaign pledge against new taxes? What would have happened if he had refused to compromise? What role did politics versus the national interest have in his decision?
- How were the Base Force proposals treated by the budget summit participants?
- How did the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait affect the budget summit negotiations?
- Why didn't the summit agreement on September 30 settle the budget questions for the year? Why did President Bush feel compelled to veto the continuing resolution on October 6?
- Why did the usual defense budget actors play such small roles in 1990?
Required Readings
* Don M. Snider,"Strategy, Forces and Budgets: Dominant Influences in Executive Decision Making, Post-cold war, 1989-91," Professional Readings in Military Strategy, No. Eight (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College), pp. 1-59. (Reprint)
* Lorna S. Jaffe, The Development of the Base Force, 1988-1992, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint History Office (Washington, 1993), pp. 9-36, 49-50. (Reprint)
* "Budget Adopted After Long Battle," Congressional Quarterly Almanac 1990 (Washington: C.Q. Press, 1991), pp. 111-115, 129-137. (Reprint)
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