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1 1 (January 9, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekcr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service nforming the legislitive debate since 1914 0 January 9, 2023 The Pacific Deterrence Initiative: A Budgetary Overview The Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) is a set of prioritized defense investments and activities established by Congress to enhance U.S. deterrence and defense, assure allies and partners, and counter adversary threats in the Indo-Pacific region in response to China's growing military power. Background and Establishrment Section 1251 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; P.L. 116-283) created PDI to carry out activities in support of U.S. strategic goals in the Indo-Pacific. In the Senate Armed Services Committee report (S.Rept. 116-236) accompanying the FY2021 NDAA, PDI is described both as a means to focus resources on capability gaps and enhance budgetary transparency and oversight by requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide a detailed and region-specific account of spending and programs. PDI is modeled on a similarly geographic-based effort known as the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), which was established in 2014 to deter Russian military aggression in Eastern Europe and assure U.S. allies in the region. PDI is not a separate fund to resource DOD activities. Rather, it represents an attempt to highlight DOD efforts that accomplish the congressionally directed goals of the initiative. It means that, although DOD submits a separate budget request for PDI activities, funding is provided as a subset of the DOD budget, rather than through separate appropriations. FY2022 Funding Prednf Budget Request The FY2022 President's budget requested $5.1 billion for PDI. This submission encompassed more than 30 line items within existing defense appropriations accounts, organized into DOD-defined activity categories: Force Design and Posture. Design a force capable of protecting the interests of U.S. allies and deterring and/or prevailing in conflict ($23 million); Exercises, Experimentation, and Innovation. Improve readiness and effectiveness and develop new ways to operate ($150 million); Joint Force Lethality. Ensure the United States can deter and defeat threats in the Indo-Pacific ($4.9 billion); Strengthen Alliances and Partnerships. Enhance interoperability and partners' abilities to defend against aggression (less than $1 million). The majority of PDI spending identified in the DOD request was dedicated to weapons systems, including $2 billion for a DDG-51 Aegis destroyer, $744 million for a T-AO fleet oiler, and $439 million for F-35 fighter aircraft upgrades. Authorized and Appropriated Activities In the enacted FY2022 NDAA (P.L. 117-81), Congress authorized $7.1 billion for PDI activities and substantially altered the categories and allocation of spending from the budget request. In its explanatory statement accompanying the NDAA, the House Armed Services Committee reiterated its support for PDI, but criticized DOD for its emphasis on weapons systems: We note that the PDI budget request for fiscal year 2022 was improperly focused on platforms, including the DDG-51, T-AO fleet oiler, and F-35, as opposed to improving the joint posture and enabling capabilities necessary to enhance deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region. Therefore, we identified approximately $7.1 billion in investments that support and attempt to improve the current posture, capabilities, and activities of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region ... that more accurately reflect a baseline from which to measure progress against the objectives of the PDI. Congress also identified and authorized a different set of investments across the following activity categories: Modernize and Strengthen Presence ($4.1 billion); Exercises, Training, Experimentation ($696 million); Infrastructure Improvements ($1.5 billion); Logistics and Prepositioning of Equipment ($360 million); and Defense and Security Capabilities of Allies and Partners ($489 million). In addition, Section 1242 of the FY2022 NDAA required the Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) to submit to Congress an independent assessment of PDI resources, force posture, and other capabilities necessary to implement the National Defense Strategy in the Indo-Pacific region for each fiscal year over a five-year period through FY2027. INDOPACOM completed this assessment in March 2022, identifying $9.1 billion in FY2023 PDI activities. Neither the DOD Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103) nor the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103) mention the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. The report accompanying the DOD bill (H.Rept. 117-81) recommended $15 million for planning and design of military construction projects for PDI in INDOPACOM. Given the absence of dedicated PDI appropriations and the lack of geographical identification in DOD budget documentation, the extent to which authorized FY2022 PDI activities received appropriations is unclear.

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