The Center for Strategic and International Studies has released a new study that says sequestration reduced the Defense Department‘s overall spending by $56 billion between 2012 and 2013, Federal News Radio reported Friday.Jared Serbu writes the CSIS study also indicates that the U.S. Army‘s spending dropped by 21 percent, the Air Force‘s by 22 percent and those of the other agencies by 18 percent due to mandatory budget reductions.
“Of the total gross outlays, 53 percent went to contract obligations in 2012, and only 49 percent went to contracts in 2013,” David Berteau, national security program lead on industry and resources at CSIS, told the station.
The U.S. Navy‘s contract spending declined by 2 percent and those of small, medium and large companies fell by 19 percent in the same period, according to the report.
Serbu writes the DoD also cut its spending on contracts with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics and BAE Systems by 9 percent in 2013.
Research and development spending also took a 21 percent dip, CSIS research fellow Greg Sanders told Federal News Radio.
