Every $1 Billion In Defense Outlays Sustains 6,500 Jobs Across Nation

Legislation saying that defense spending couldn’t fall to less than 4 percent of U.S. economic output was unveiled by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The joint resolution was submitted as President Obama is reconsidering the justification for many defense programs, including weapons platforms, and some Democrats in Congress are calling for deep cuts in military spending.

Franks and Inhofe said their bill would keep the United States safe, restore the military to the level of capability and readiness that the public expects, and provide jobs in almost every state in the nation as the economy plunges deeply into recession.

While some in Congress wish to cut defense spending, it is worth noting that just one enemy attack, on Sept. 11, 2001, cost $1 trillion in economic damage, Franks observed.

The 4 percent floor actually would be far less than the United States has spent previously on military programs, such as during the Reagan administration, according to Baker Spring, a military analyst with The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.

Inhofe observed that while Congress debates gigantic spending bills to spur economic growth and foster jobs creation, military outlays would meet those objectives well.

"Defense spending, along with infrastructure investment and tax cuts, have a greater stimulative impact on the economy than anything else the government can do," Inhofe said.

"Experts estimate that $1 billion in procurement spending correlates to 6,500 jobs," Inhofe said. "Major defense procurement programs are all manufactured in the U.S., and our aerospace industry alone employs more than 655,000 workers spread across over most of the nation. Establishing a minimum baseline defense budget will allow the Department of Defense and the Services to plan for and fund acquisition programs based on a minimum known budget through the Future Years Defense Program."

And, he noted, such spending also would mean the United States could meet growing threats. As well, those outlays would send a clear signal to allies and enemies alike, he said.

When the United States greatly increased defense spending in the 1980s, the Soviet Union was defeated and the Cold War was won, Franks noted.

Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.), a top defense policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, praised the resolution, saying that Congress should have to provide at least a minimal level of financial support for defense, as the Inhofe-Franks resolution would require.