Department of the Navy Releases Fiscal Year 2019 Budget

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WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of the Navy released its proposed $194.1 billion (Base and Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)) budget Feb. 12, for fiscal year (FY) 2019. 

This budget is part of the $716 billion (Base and OCO) defense budget President Donald Trump submitted to Congress the same day.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget, Rear Adm. Brian Luther, briefed media during a Department of Defense press conference on the Navy and Marine Corps portion of the budget.

"Our ability to complete our mission rests on the entire Navy and Marine Corps team - Sailors and Marines, Active Duty and Reserve, our Civilian teammates and all our families," said Luther. "The Department is grateful for the increased funding and has worked diligently in this request to ensure the funding provided protects and sustains the readiness gains of FY18 and creates a balanced warfighting force with the capabilities needed for the fight and the capacity to win the fight."

This year's budget request is focused on restoring wholeness by growing the readiness, capability and capacity of the Navy and Marine Corps in an effort to build a more lethal, resilient and agile force to deter and defeat aggression by great power competitors and adversaries in all domains across the conflict spectrum. This force is necessary to fulfill the maritime responsibilities articulated in the National Defense Strategy. 

Wholeness will be achieved by focusing on six specific dimensions: building a bigger, better, networked, talented, agile and ready fleet. 

This budget includes a $63.4 billion (base and OCO) request for operation and maintenance, funding the maximum executable amounts for ship depot maintenance, aviation depot maintenance and the flight-hour program. The operation and maintenance request represents an emphasis on the importance of restoring wholeness to build capacity and improve lethality in the future.

The submission will build on current programs and invest in innovation to enable the Navy to compete in a fast-paced, complex global maritime environment - today and in the future. The submission includes a $58.5 billion (base and OCO) procurement budget that would buy 10 new ships and 54 ships across the Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) and invest in high-tech systems including unmanned, cyber and directed energy weapons. 

The 10 new ships the budget would purchase include three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, two Virginia-class submarines, one littoral combat ship and one expeditionary staging base to prioritize stability in major combatant shipbuilding as the fleet continues to grow. Additionally, the budget funds the construction of 120 aircraft in FY19 and 655 aircraft across the FYDP

By fully funding the Columbia-class SSBN program, the FY19 budget maintains the Navy's commitment to providing the nation with a credible and survivable sea-based strategic deterrent. 

In order to meet dynamic changes in the security environment of today, this year's submission includes $18.6 billion for research and development, supporting the Navy-Marine Corps team of the future through technological advantages designed to counter adversaries in all environments and across all spectrums. 

The budget supports our personnel by funding career-development initiatives and providing a 2.6 percent pay increase, while developing and procuring the most cutting-edge platforms and weapons available. It also continues to invest in Sailor 2025, to promote the transformation of internal business processes to improve service to Sailors, increase organizational agility and responsiveness and reduce cost. 

Lastly and equally important, the Department of the Navy (DON) remains fully committed to the audit effort and transforming our business culture by adopting strong internal controls consistent with industry standards. Internal processes and programs were reviewed to achieve reform and funding savings over $5 billion across the FYDP. Our reform efforts continue to focus on improving organizational effectiveness; eliminating, restructuring or merging activities; and workforce management.

Highlights of the proposed DoD budget are outlined at http://comptroller.defense.gov/BudgetMaterials.aspx

The entire fiscal 2019 DON budget proposal may be viewed at www.finance.hq.navy.mil/fmb/PB/books.htm