Discretionary Spending
Function 050 - National Defense
Stop Building Ford Class Aircraft Carriers
CBO periodically issues a compendium of policy options (called Options for Reducing the Deficit) covering a broad range of issues, as well as separate reports that include options for changing federal tax and spending policies in particular areas. This option appears in one of those publications. The options are derived from many sources and reflect a range of possibilities. For each option, CBO presents an estimate of its effects on the budget but makes no recommendations. Inclusion or exclusion of any particular option does not imply an endorsement or rejection by CBO.
| Billions of dollars | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2015-2019 | 2015-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in Spending | |||||||||||||
| Budget authority | 0 | -0.7 | -1.0 | -0.8 | -1.9 | -2.4 | -3.1 | -3.9 | -3.7 | -2.2 | -4.5 | -19.9 | |
| Outlays | 0 | -0.1 | -0.3 | -0.5 | -0.7 | -1.1 | -1.5 | -2.1 | -2.7 | -2.9 | -1.5 | -11.8 | |
Note: This option would take effect in October 2015. Estimates of savings displayed in the table are based on the fiscal year 2015 Future Years Defense Program and the Congressional Budget Office’s extension of that program.
Under this option, the Navy would stop building new aircraft carriers after completion of the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy, which lawmakers authorized in 2013. (All years mentioned in this option are fiscal years.) Thus, the next two aircraft carriers the Navy intends to purchase under its shipbuilding plan, the U.S.S. Enterprise in 2018 and another carrier in 2023, would be canceled.