With inflation rising daily, Joe Biden is pitching the idea of raising the Pentagon’s budget to $842 billion dollars. This would increase our nation’s budget by $23 billion.
Republican lawmakers did not take this news lightly and are against the Biden administration’s proposal for the Pentagon’s budget.
Their argument is based on the new budget being “too small” to make up for the aftermath of all the effects of inflation due to the national security threats by Russia and China to our military.
According to Fox News, President Biden’s budget proposal included an overall $886 billion for national security programs including $842 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) in fiscal year (FY) 2024, an increase of 3.2 percent or $26 billion over the $816 billion enacted for the DOD in the FY 2023.
Many are worried about the 3.2 percent increase because it falls short of the inflation percentage.
The latest inflation reading by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the inflation rate remains at 6 percent. If the president followed through with this proposal, the Pentagon’s purchasing power could decline by 2.8 percent.
“President Biden’s defense budget remains woefully inadequate for this dangerous moment,” Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker posted on Twitter.
With many Republicans against Biden’s budget proposal, we will likely see a possible negotiation toward a bipartisan compromise on this year’s annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA outlines the defense budget and sets policies that provide actual funding to the Pentagon.