For over 16 years the United States has carried out a widespread, governmentwide, “Global War on Terror.” But lawmakers and the public have not had access to data on how much the U.S. has spent. The Stimson Center is the first to put forward an amount.
In our new report, Protecting America While Promoting Efficiencies and Accountability, we found that in the years since 9/11, the United States has spent…
$2,800,000,000,000.
That's not a typo. Over the past 16 years, the U.S. has spent an estimated $2.8 trillion on counterterrorism programs. Just last year, the U.S. spent an average of $4.8 million per day.
Finding this number was no easy task. Counterterrorism spending is defined differently across government agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and Department of State.
At the same time, the data that is reported is clouded. In 2016, the Pentagon acknowledged that half of its war-spending fund — about $30 billion — was used to supplement base spending and avoid budget caps.
This means that members of Congress, and the public, cannot have informed debates about the fight against terrorism and whether individual programs have been effective and efficient.
That is why the Study Group came up with five recommendations for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress that will promote efficiency and accountability:
- Create a clear and transparent counterterrorism funding report;
- Adopt a detailed agencywide definition for counterterrorism spending;
- Build on current accounting structures to anticipate future budget pressures;
- Tie the definition of war spending to specific activities;
- Require Congress to separately approve emergency or wartime spending.
With these recommendations, decisionmakers, policymakers, and the public can have access to more accurate and uniform data that accounts for counterterrorism spending. This will lead to more honest conversations about how we protect America while upholding our values and being mindful of taxpayer dollars.
To learn more about how much money the U.S. government spends on counterterrorism programs, be sure to read our report, Protecting America While Promoting Efficiencies and Accountability.
Credits:
Department of Defense