Abstract
Program funding volatility in the Army’s budget is surprisingly insensitive to a program’s functional capability, relative size, manufacturer, number of jobs generated by the program, or the U.S. state in which the program is primarily produced. No single factor can decisively account for unstable budget outcomes; instead, each program’s funding history is a combination of its technical, industrial, and political characteristics.
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Notes
- 1.
Some RFPs do require immature technologies. The Ground Combat Vehicle RFP, however, prioritized time available for development and fielding and the ability to integrate the vehicle’s systems with existing technologies, leading the Army to dictate the use of mature technologies.
- 2.
Dollar thresholds in Table 5.2 are based on the amount of budget authority requested during each particular fiscal year, not the total dollar value of the program over time.
- 3.
Of the 175 programs contained in AIM for fiscal year 2007, 5 did not have contractor data.
- 4.
Although it is not as large or diverse a company as the others, Alliant Technologies is the primary supplier of the Army’s ammunition, an increasingly valuable commodity during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- 5.
Adams (1981), p. 7.
- 6.
Mayer (1991), p. 210.
- 7.
Congressional Budget Office (2007), p. 8.
- 8.
Tiron (2010).
- 9.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (2009).
- 10.
See Hall and Frank (1990), who contend that Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions are more influential at the committee level, but still affect only the amount of time and resources a legislator will spend on an issue; Hall and Alan (2006), who find evidence that lobbyists simply support like-minded legislators who already share largely the same objectives as the lobbying effort; Ansolabehere et al. (2003), who argue that we should treat PAC contributions as just another form of political participation; and Baumgartner et al. (2009), who find that lobbyists’ relationships reflect the current power distribution and do no more than protect the status quo.
- 11.
This point is explained in detail by Baumgartner et al. (2009).
- 12.
- 13.
- 14.
Office of Management and Budget (2015).
- 15.
Office of Management and Budget (2015).
- 16.
- 17.
Mayhew (1974), pp. 13–77.
- 18.
House Committee on Appropriations, Making Supplemental Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2009, and for Other Purposes, Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2346, 111th Cong., 1st sess., H.R. 111-151. Some program funding for Army uniforms was provided by supplemental appropriations to the base budget. Supplemental funding is used for war-related expenses and is examined only in this example. Data in this analysis includes base funding, not supplemental funding, which has been excluded wherever it can be identified.
- 19.
The difference in price between MultiCam and Universal Camouflage Pattern uniforms is due to the cost of producing individual equipment, such as ammunition pouches and helmet covers, as well as a more expensive cloth treatment for MultiCam-patterned uniforms. MultiCam uniforms are also more costly because the pattern trademark was developed by a private company, whereas the Army owns the rights to the Universal Camouflage Pattern.
- 20.
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Demarest, H.B. (2017). Some Explanations for Budget Volatility. In: US Defense Budget Outcomes. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52301-9_5
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