The Biden administration submitted its fiscal 2023 budget request of more than $813 billion for national defense, with $773 billion of it allocated for the Department of Defense.
The requested budget is roughly a $30 billion increase from this year’s enacted amount, which amounts to a 4.1% hike. Biden’s request is approximately 8% more than what the administration requested last year, to which Congress added tens of billions of dollars.
“It preserves our readiness and deterrent posture against the threats we face today: the acute threat of an aggressive Russia and the constantly emerging threats posed by North Korea, Iran, and violent extremist organizations,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “Our budget reflects our National Defense Strategy and the focus of that strategy of the pacing challenge of China.”
UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO US ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ‘GENOCIDE’ DURING INVASION
A top DOD budget official told reporters on Monday that the proposal was finalized before Russia invaded Ukraine late last month.
The current proposal, which reflects “the recent inflationary effect of the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of global supply chains,” according to a DOD readout, would include a 4.6% increase in pay for military and civilian personnel, and it would comply with a $15 hourly minimum wage for federal workforce employees. It also allocates $479 million for the implementation of the Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military’s recommendation, another $34 million to improve the military’s ability to detect concerning and extremist behavior, and $1 billion for the Red Hill water contamination crisis.
Prior to Monday’s announcement, Republicans on the Hill have repeatedly called for a 5% increase over the inflation-adjusted fiscal 2022 enacted level. The calls for the increased defense spending will likely continue as Congress evaluates this year’s budget proposal.
“It is critically important that we ensure that our warfighters are equipped to handle these threats — that means we must continue to increase investment in our national defense,” Rep. Mike Rogers, the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, President Biden’s FY23 budget has proven to be once again, wholly inadequate. Most importantly, this budget fails to account for the record high inflation that is wreaking havoc on our nation. My colleagues and I were clear with President Biden: our warfighters need a defense budget that is 5% above the rate of inflation.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Sen. Jim Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also accused the administration of not seeking enough funding, saying, “President Biden’s defense budget reflects the world he wishes for — but not the world as it is. You simply can’t look at the world around us now and think this budget is adequate to confront all the threats we face, let alone to accelerate our attempts to maintain and restore deterrence and secure U.S. interests for our children and grandchildren.”
