Pentagon Spending in 2023 to Hit Record High of $858, With $45 Bln for Ukraine
A Department of Defense plaque is seen outside the Pentagon in Washington, DC on October 6, 2021.
The defense-heavy $1.7 trillion federal spending bill that was passed by Congress earlier this month and officially avoids a US government shutdown was flown for signing on December 29 to President Joe Biden, vacationing on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. President Joe Biden signed off on the $1.7 trillion bipartisan omnibus federal spending bill on December 29, which will fund the work of the US government in 2023.The defense-heavy H. R. 2617, Consolidated Appropriations 2023 Act, provides for “consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, as well as emergency assistance in response to the situation in Ukraine and for other purposes,” the document states.Congress passed the Omnibus Appropriations bill 225-201, along party lines, on December 23, just hours before the deadline to avert a partial federal government shutdown. The 4,155 pages-worth of legislation provides approximately $45 billion for Ukraine and NATO allies – a greater sum than the $37.7 billion the Democratic POTUS had sought from Congress in November, in what is seen as a recognition that future funding for the Kiev regime may face hurdles after the Republicans claim official control of the House in early January.Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Leader in the US House of Representatives who is eyeing the position of speaker when a new session of Congress opens on January 3, had earlier slammed the bill as a spending “monstrosity” and insisted the “appropriations process has failed the American public.”Here is a breakdown of what this mammoth bill incorporates, as per US media reports.
AmericasUS Senate Passes $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Package Including New Batch of Ukraine Aid22 December, 19:30 GMT
Pentagon’s Hefty Budget
The total spending foreseen in this budget will be higher than in fiscal 2022, when this figure was set at $1.52 trillion. A hefty part of the funds – about $858 billion – will go to defense – around $45 billion more than proposed by President Joe Biden. $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs, including $118.7 billion for Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care. In the previous fiscal year, the US defense budget was about 10% less (about $782 billion).The sweeping package includes roughly $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies – again, about 20 percent more than the Biden administration requested. A breakdown of the finances to be funneled to the Kiev regime shows that about $11.9 billion will be earmarked for replenishing depleted US weapons stockpiles amid Washington’s continued shipments to Ukraine. Since Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine, the Biden administration and its allies have delivered more than $40 billion in military assistance to Kiev in 2022.
Russia’s Special Operation in Ukraine‘We Haven’t Got This Figured Out Yet’, Pentagon Says of Ukraine Aid as US Runs Low on Arms to Send5 December, 16:00 GMTAs part of the supplemental aid, $9 billion will go to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, incorporating funding for training, equipping and offering intelligence support to Ukraine’s military. In addition, $300 million is intended “for advanced nuclear reactors and advanced nuclear fuels” to purportedly boost Ukraine’s “energy security and independence.”Another $2.47 billion are designated towards addressing humanitarian needs in Ukraine, with $13.37 billion allocated for economic support for Kiev and $2.4 billion set aside towards the resettling of Ukrainian arrivals and refugees into the United States. The budget also included an amendment allowing the withdrawal of assets of Russian businessmen frozen as a result of sanctions for their subsequent transfer to Ukraine.Overall, this funding will see assistance to Ukraine surpass $110 billion in 2022.Some staunch conservatives in the GOP caucus have blasted both the bill, for its size, and the scope of aid being earmarked for Ukraine. House Republicans have argued that the funds might be better spent on US priorities, while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has continously warned that Republicans will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine in the future.© Photo : TwitterScreenshot of Twitter account of Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.
Screenshot of Twitter account of Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.© Photo : TwitterScreenshot of Twitter account of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
Screenshot of Twitter account of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
Disaster Relief
$40.6 billion is set aside to provide assisance to communities across the US struggling in the aftermath of drought, hurricanes, flooding, wildfire, natural disasters, etc.
Reforms to Electoral Count Act
The legislation includes an initiative clarifying the role of the Vice President of the United States in relation to the counting of Electoral College votes in presidential elections by the joint session of Congress. The role is “solely ministerial” and explicitly states the vice president has “no power to solely determine, accept, reject or otherwise adjudicate or resolve disputes over” the validity of electors or the votes of electors. This proposal was designed to prevent what happened on January 6, 2021, when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the US Congress and delayed the certification of 2020 presidential election results in favor of Joe Biden. Hundreds of individuals have since been charged with crimes related to the riot. Approximately $2.6 billion is being earmarked to fund the January 6 trials.
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Enhanced Security
The budget also includes $11.3 billion for the FBI’s efforts to curb violence and domestic terrorism. The initiative also provides $2.5 million for the Senators’ “residential security system program” against the backdrop of the assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home.It provides $9.5 million to enhance the US Capitol Police Department’s “investigative and protection ability.”
TikTok Ban
Also incorporated into the spending plan is GOP Sen. Josh Hawley’s “No TikTok on Government Devices Act,” requiring the social media app TikTok to be removed from devices used by federal agencies and military branches. The US Senate passed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act on December 14 to ban the Chinese short-form video app from government smartphones, tablet PCs and laptops, citing national security concerns.The current provision specifically names TikTok, as well as any service developed or provided by ByteDance, the app’s Chinese-owned parent company. More than a dozen states have recently banned the use of TikTok on state-government phones, with state officials claiming that China uses information that it “gathers” on TikTok to “manipulate” the American people.
Opinion & AnalysisWashington’s TikTok Ban & Broader Hi-Tech War on China May Backfire – Author15 December, 18:07 GMTElsewhere, the bill will provide a spending boost for college access, mental health, child care, food assistance, and miscellaneous other provisions.