On DoD: Procurement, R&D take brunt of cuts from sequestration

While sequestration took a bite out of nearly everything the Defense Department obligates funds toward, the areas of procurement and R&D took a disproporti...

This week’s program is part of a series of special reports on Federal News Radio: A New Era In Technology. Our guest, Alan Shaffer, the acting assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering spends the hour with Jared Serbu to talk about science and technology in the Defense Department and the resources needed to pay for that research in the defense budget.

While sequestration took a bite out of nearly everything DoD obligates funds toward, the areas of procurement and R&D took a disproportionate hit, as the department was forced to move money out of those accounts to protect current operations. According to one independent analysis, DoD’s research, development test and evaluation accounts have already been cut by the same amount as in previous defense spending drawdowns — and very few people think the current drawdown is over.

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