WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- When George Bush took office at the beginning of 2001, the federal ... budget surplus and projected rising surpluses "as far as the eye could see." Now, the United ...

Since 2001, the base defense budget has soared from $287 ... and where Hagel might have to cut: 1) The United States spent 20 percent of the federal budget on defense in 2011.