USA launches record defense budget
The defense budget is one of the few packages that Republicans and Democrats can agree on in the current political climate. Spending is growing every year and, in view of the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, this is unlikely to change any time soon.
The US Congress has passed a record defense budget with a large majority. The Republican-dominated House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill with a volume of 886 billion dollars, three percent more than in the previous year. On Wednesday, the Senate voted in favour of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). President Joe Biden's signature was considered certain.
The NDAA also extends part of the Ukraine aid until the end of 2026 in the amount of 300 million dollars per year. However, Democrat Biden has asked Congress for 61 billion dollars. No agreement has yet been reached on this.
The annual military budget includes everything from pay rises for troops - this year by 5.2 percent - to the purchase of ships, ammunition and aircraft and political measures such as support for Ukraine and action against China in the Indo-Pacific region. It is passed separately from the regular federal budget and is one of the few legislative packages that both major parties can agree on in the current political climate.
The NDAA has now been passed 63 years in a row. This year's 3100-page package also extends a controversial domestic surveillance program by four months. This is intended to give MPs more time to either reform or retain Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The provision grants the police access to data collected by foreign intelligence agencies without a court order. In July, it became known that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had, among other things, carried out unauthorized searches on a US senator.
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Source: www.ntv.de
