2 years ago
The White House asked Congress for $813 billion for national defense on Monday — including $773 billion for the Pentagon, or $30 billion more than approved by Congress for this year.
The full details of the plan will be released Monday afternoon, but the focus on China as the “pacing challenge” for the Pentagon will remain consistent, budget documents released Monday morning say. The impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine last month, however, will loom large over how the new request is received in Congress.
Despite the high top-line request, with inflation it is only a 1.5 percent real increase from the fiscal 2022 budget, a fact that will draw the ire of many in Congress who have pushed for a 5 to 7 percent increase, citing Russian aggression and continued Chinese military modernization efforts.
The national defense budget enacted for this year was $782 billion.
The budget will make new investments in the nation’s nuclear triad, and in building a new long-range stealth bomber and new nuclear-powered submarines. It will also increase investments in hypersonic weapons development and building up the defense industrial base, in particular, funding upgrades to the Navy’s public and private shipyards.
Overseas, the request includes $6.9 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative — up from a $3.6 billion request in 2022 — and $1.8 billion for expanding U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
There is an additional $682 million for Ukraine, “to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity issues, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience,” according to a budget document.
English (US)