The spending requested by Biden is on par with expenditures at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—even though those wars officially ended with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan nearly two years ago.
Lindsay Koshgarian directs the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
As usual, the biggest portion of the discretionary budget request—52 percent—was for military spending. That’s near historical high levels, on par with spending at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—even though those wars officially ended with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021.
The Biden request is $28 billion higher than what Congress approved for regular military and nuclear weapons operations in 2023 .Biden’s request of $886 billion has no legal force. At best it’s an opening bid, and if past patterns hold, Congress will approve significantly more. In 2023, for example, the Biden request was for $813 billion, and Congress ultimately approved $858 billion.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Is Blinken repeating Biden’s Iraq mistake in Africa?Violence continues in and around Las Anod [Laascaanood], the capital of Somaliland’s Sool region. While clan tensions in the region are nothing new, the current outbreak of violence was not spontaneous. Evidence suggests that both Somali irredentists and China, upset with Somaliland’s turn toward…
Read more »
Biden administration supports repealing authorization for wars in IraqThe Biden administration announced it supports legislation that would bring about an official end to the Iraq War & Persian Gulf War. This marks a significant moment in the decadeslong debate on whether to repeal the dual AUMFs despite both wars ending.
Read more »
Biden Shows Support as Senate Advances Repeal of Iraq War Authorizations'It's encouraging to see an administration committed to addressing outdated AUMFs,' one campaigner said of the 1991 and 2002 war authorizations against Iraq. 'However, a genuine commitment will involve respecting congressional authority over war.'
Read more »
Biden Announces Support for Senate’s Iraq War Authorization RepealThe White House has thrown its weight behind an ongoing effort in the Senate to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq war authorizations, almost 10 years after the U.S. supposedly officially ended combat operations under the resolutions.
Read more »
Senate advances Biden-backed bill that would repeal Iraq war authorizationsA bill that would repeal the authorizations for war in Iraq cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate on Thursday with bipartisan support — and President Biden has signaled that he would sign…
Read more »
Grassley blasts Biden admin for 'contempt toward the taxpayers' in handling of $40M of Afghanistan aidSen. Grassley says the State Department has found only $19k out of $40 million 'questioned costs' surrounding Afghanistan aide was allowable, over 2 years from a watchdog's damning report
Read more »