WASHINGTON
—
The
Pentagon
has
requested
that
Congress
formally
change
the
name
of
the
Defense
Department
to
the
Department
of
War
in
a
new
legislative
proposal,
a
move
that
is
likely
to
rile
Democrats
as
lawmakers
begin
hashing
out
the
fiscal
2027
defense
policy
bill.
The
Pentagon
stated
in
the
proposal
that
the
change
would
have
“no
significant
impact”
on
the
FY27
budget.
However,
it
later
added
that
the
department
estimates
it
will
spend
about
$51.5
million
across
its
entire
organization
during
FY26
to
implement
the
name
swap,
with
the
majority
of
that
sum
—
$44.6
million
—
used
to
make
changes
within
defense
agencies
and
DoD
field
activities.
“Changes
were
implemented
in
Fiscal
Year
(FY)
2026
from
existing
resources
in
the
most
cost
effective
and
non-invasive
ways
(e.g.,
using
stock
until
depleted
before
making
changes
to
letterhead,
updating
signage
by
collective
purchases),”
the
proposal
states,
adding
that
actual
costs
incurred
as
the
department
transitioned
using
to
the
“Department
of
War”
nomenclature
“are
still
being
collected.”
“The
revision
to
the
designation
of
the
Department
serves
as
a
fundamental
reminder
of
the
importance
and
reverence
of
our
core
mission,
to
fight
and
win
wars.
It
serves
as
a
strategic
objective
in
which
to
measure
and
prioritize
all
activities,”
it
said.
Inside
Defense
was
first
to
report
on
the
legislative
proposal.
The
Congressional
Budget
Office
estimated
in
January
that
transitioning
the
name
of
the
Defense
Department
to
the
War
Department
would
cost
at
least
$10
million
“but
they
could
be
as
large
as
$125
million
if
the
name
change
was
implemented
broadly
and
rapidly
throughout
the
department,”
the
office
stated
in
a
letter
to
Sen.
Jeff
Merkley,
the
top
Democrat
on
the
Senate
Budget
Committee.
“A
statutory
renaming
could
cost
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
depending
on
how
Congress
and
DoD
chose
to
implement
the
change,”
the
CBO
said
in
the
letter.