Congress has been working on next year’s defense budget, and for the second year in a row members of both parties have rejected President Biden’s proposal as insufficient. This is a welcome development, though Washington is only starting to address the threats the U.S. faces.
The Senate Armed Services Committee recently passed a national defense authorization for 2023 that would provide the Pentagon $817 billion, up from the roughly $773 billion the Biden Administration requested, about a $45 billion difference. The House amended its initial draft in committee to add $37 billion to President Biden’s request. These increases are aimed in part at mitigating inflation, which is crushing the Pentagon’s buying power, especially on fuel and housing.
