Matthew Beinart
Defense Daily
MONTERRY, Calif. — The president’s fiscal year 2020 budget request for the Pentagon is likely to be delayed until mid-March and will arrive in two parts: a skinny budget followed by the full request a week later, a staff member on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee said this week.
Congressional staffer John Lucio told attendees here at NDIA’s Tactical Wheeled Vehicles Conference he received a notice this morning that the Office of Management and Budget has indicated to Congress the budget rollout will include a skinny budget with top-line numbers the week of March 11 and the release of the full budget request on March 18.
“We got an email this morning saying that they are projecting right now to give us the skinny budget on March 12 with full budget documents by March 18,” Lucio said during his panel.
An original budget release was planned for Feb. 5, but has been delayed following the recent government shutdown.
T.J. Stapleton, president of consulting company Stapleton & Associates, said during the same panel his firm was also expecting a mid-march budget rollout. Stapleton added he believes that date could be pushed back as well.
A top-line of budget number of $750 billion has been suggested but not confirmed by Pentagon officials.
The White House Office of Management and Budget this week did not respond to queries regarding the schedule for rollout of the budgets for other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy.
This story first appeared in Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor affiliate publication Defense Daily.
