WILLIAMS AUDIT v.2

M A S S A C H U S E T T S I N S T I T U T E O F T E C H N O L O G Y M A S S A C H U S E T T S I N S T I T U T E O F T E C H N O L O G YJune 200606-10M I T C E N T E R F O R I N T E R N A T I O N A L S T U D I E Sof the Conventional Wisdom“For what DoD spends on Iraq Budgets to Make America Safereach month (currently $8.1 billion...), the federal govern- Cindy WilliamsMIT Security Studies Programment could double planned FY 2007 spending for emergency ince September 2001, federal budgets for national security have preparedness and response ($5.5 Sclimbed more than 50 percent in real terms. Unfortunately, much billion), nuclear detection ($536 of the added money reflects “business as usual” rather than programs million), medical countermea- aimed at making the nation safer from today’s threats.sures to chemical, biological, Compared with past decades, national security spending makes up a relatively small share of the U.S. economy. Nevertheless, with the federal debt growing rapidly and as large radiological, and nuclear threats numbers of baby boomers approach retirement age, many observers expect future federal budgets to be tight. Thus it is critically important to ensure that national security funds ($2 billion), and enhancements go to projects that make the nation more secure. This article examines broad changes in national security budgets since September 2001. It first reviews the three categories of fed-to FEMA’s alert and early eral spending for ...