U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed a whopping $1.01 trillion in defense spending for the next fiscal year, a 13% increase at a time when he is calling for major cuts to domestic programs.
The White House unveiled a budget blueprint on Friday that calls for an additional $119 billion to the reconciliation bill currently being debated in Congress, which includes an overhaul of the Pentagon.
The defense spending proposal is at par with Trump’s stated priorities for extra cash to strengthen homeland security, deterring China in the Indo-Pacific, and revitalizing the U.S. defense and immigration enforcement capabilities.
But the proposed slashing of $163 billion or a 23% cut to non-defense spending would eliminate a vast set of climate, education, health and housing programs, including some that benefit the poor.
Democratic members of Congress have objected to raising defense funding without corresponding increases to some non-defense sectors.
However, some Republican hawks have expressed disappointment over the planned budget, arguing that, minus the reconciliation bill, it keeps defense spending unchanged.
The administration “is not requesting a one trillion-dollar budget. It is requesting a budget of $892.6 billion,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker said, blaming Trump’s advisers for “apparently not listening” to the president.
“For the defense budget, OMB (Office of Management and Budget) has requested a fifth year straight of the Biden-era funding, leaving military spending flat,” he claimed.
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