NORFOLK, Va. - The President's proposed fiscal year 2021 budget is out and it includes another pay raise for service members.
The $705.4 billion budget proposal includes that 3% pay increase for those in uniform, and also increases the allowances for housing.
The DOD request also includes $15.4 billion for the newly created Space Force.
Continuing to phase in the F-35 Lightning II is part of the defense budget for 2021, with $11.4 billion allocated for 79 of the fighter jet variants.
For the Navy, the budget request funds just one new Virginia-class submarine at $4.7 billion.
The Virginia-class submarines are built jointly between Newport News Shipbuilding and Electric Boat in Connecticut.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine is already raising concerns about the plan to build just one Virginia-class submarine, which is a departure from funding for two each year.
"I’m concerned that the President’s budget proposal dramatically cuts funding for Virginia-class submarines. For years, robust funding for these submarines has strengthened our national security and our shipbuilding industry in Hampton Roads. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I’m going to push hard to reject this budget cut and ensure full funding for two Virginia-class submarines," Kaine said in a statement.
The budget also includes $3.5 billion for two DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
"In short, this budget invests in bringing the capabilities of tomorrow to life," Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist said at a Pentagon briefing Monday.
"The result is a budget that puts us on a path to develop a future force that will prevail in each and every domain — air, land and sea, space and cyber — leveraging the capabilities of each in a synchronized fashion while fighting seamlessly across them all," he added.
The budget request proposal could change significantly as it works through Congress.
You can read the entire budget proposal and supporting documents here.
