House Passes $840 Billion Military Budget
37 billion more than was requested
Source: The New York Times
The House on Thursday passed an $840 billion policy bill that would increase President Biden’s requested Pentagon budget by $37 billion, reflecting a growing bipartisan appetite in Congress to raise military spending amid new threats from Russia and China.
The legislation would grant a 4.6 percent pay raise to military personnel, limit the Biden administration’s ability to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and require top national security agencies to report on and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi activity in federal law enforcement and the armed forces. While the measure drew wide bipartisan support, passing 329 to 101, Republicans had unanimously opposed the mandate to root out white supremacy, arguing that no such effort was needed.
The bill also contains provisions aimed at mitigating civilian deaths and injuries caused by U.S. military operations and authorizing $100 million for assistance to Ukrainian military pilots. And it would repeal the 2002 law authorizing the invasion of Iraq, which has been stretched by multiple administrations to justify military action around the world.
“We have a complex threat environment, when you look at Russia and China and Iran,” said Representative Adam Smith, Democrat of Washington and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee. “The war in Ukraine is a devastating threat to peace, stability, and democracy, not just in Eastern Europe, but across the globe that we are working with partners to try to address. So we have to make sure that we have a strong bill.”
House Democrats initially proposed meeting Mr. Biden’s requested military budget, but a bipartisan group on the Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly supported a measure by Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, to increase the amount by roughly 4.6 percent.
They are not threatening the America is threatening THEM!
Vladimir Soloviev’s favourite conspiracy theory is that Joseph Biden is either an agent of V.V. Putin or his full partner in crime.
Vecher TV’s new theme and marching song:
I’m guided by a signal in the heavens
I’m guided by this birthmark on my skin
I’m guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
By the way, what is wrong with V.V. Putin ? Now he sits in a large room, ten yards away from the Iranian guy whom he visited. This time there is not even a table.
Why would they allow cameras, and why would they allow publication of such pictures ?
The aim is keep the military spending at 4% of GDP. So over time as the economy grows in real terms and with inflation, the military budget rises along with it.
We have also seen in the Ukraine war how valuable having a lot of extra equipment and ammo in storage is, for both sides.