Biographies

Mike McCord was sworn in as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer on June 27, 2014 and serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on all budgetary and financial matters, including the development and execution of the Department’s annual budget of more than $500 billion.

Before assuming his present position, Mr. McCord served for five years as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). In addition to other duties, he served as DoD’s Senior Accountable Official for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and was a member of numerous senior-level decision-making bodies inside the Department on budget, program, strategy, financial management and legislative matters.

Mr. McCord joined the Department of Defense (DoD) with 24 years of experience in national security issues in the legislative branch, including 21 years as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) for former Senator Sam Nunn and the current Chairman Senator Carl Levin. He served on the SASC full committee staff beginning in 1987 and also, starting in 1995, as the minority or majority staff lead on the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.

On the SASC Readiness Subcommittee, Mr. McCord was responsible for installation and global basing matters including construction or leasing of new military facilities, maintenance of existing facilities, base closure and base reuse matters, land and property disposal and exchange issues, DoD use of public lands, and privatization of DoD housing and utilities. He was also responsible for oversight of over $100 billion in annual DoD operation and maintenance funding and military readiness policy matters including training, contingency operations funding, equipment maintenance, and the working capital funds.

At the full committee level he had oversight of defense budget matters, including the defense topline; oversight of DoD’s Quadrennial Defense Review; supplemental funding for contingency operations and natural disasters; resource allocation among subcommittees; ensuring compliance with discretionary and mandatory spending targets; and advising the Committee on fiscal and budget policy issues. He also managed the Committee’s review of the reprogramming of defense funds and coordination with the Appropriations and Budget Committees.

During 2003, he served as the budget analyst for defense and veterans issues for the Democratic staff of the House Budget Committee under Representative John Spratt. His primary focus was on the cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. McCord began his career as an analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, where his primary responsibility was analysis of military personnel programs, including personnel strength levels, pay and benefits costs, and military retirement.

Mr. McCord has a B.A. with honors in economics from the Ohio State University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Donna reside in Virginia.