Obama spending more on defense than Reagan had at peak

The Department of Defense's new proposed budget would dwarf military spending sought during President Ronald Reagan's time in office.

According to a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, the money sought by the Defense department as well as President Barack Obama's 2010 budget -- which excludes money for ongoing war efforts -- would outpace Reagan's defense spending at its peak.

CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf wrote in a blog post that the Defense department's proposed budget would require some $573 billion in spending per year between 2011 and 2028. That request is seven percent more than what Obama requested in his administration's regular 2010 budget.

"The projection also exceeds the peak of about $500 billion (in 2010 dollars) during the height of the Reagan Administration’s military buildup in the mid-1980s," Elmendorf explained. "During that period, for example, DoD was pursuing a Navy fleet of 600 battle force ships, more than twice the size of the current fleet of 287."

Elmendorf said the CBO calculated that, including the costs of ongoing military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense spending would average $632 billion per year between 2011-2028, with a high of $670 billion in 2028.

The report, which was requested by Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), comes days before Obama delivers his first State of the Union address.

That address is sure to address proposals to rein in government spending and how to balance the budget, both of which are heavily impacted by defense spending.

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