The US approved a record defense budget, "pours heavily" for Israel, but what about Ukraine?

On December 18, the US Senate voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing an $895 billion budget for the Department of Defense .

The US will spend heavily on its defense budget in fiscal year 2025. (Source: Adobe Stock)

The Senate passed the 1,800-page bill by a vote of 85 to 14, The Hill reported. The House of Representatives approved the bill last week by a vote of 281 to 140. The bill will now be sent to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.

The bill is the result of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate after weeks of closed-door negotiations.

Senate Republican leaders argue that a 1% increase in defense spending is not enough, especially at a time of global instability that poses challenges to American leadership.

“We are now living through the most dangerous national security moment since World War II,” said Republican Senator Eoger Wicker, who will chair the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2025.

Mr. Wicker has pushed for more funding for defense, breaking spending limits in a bipartisan deal to suspend the debt ceiling last year.

Speaking before the vote, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “The NDAA is not a perfect bill, but it still delivers on many important advances that Democrats have fought for.”

Meanwhile, the current Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democratic Senator Jack Reed, assessed that this is a "strong, forward-looking bill that we can all be proud of."

“Finally, we have before us a very strong NDAA,” he stressed. “I am confident that it will provide the Department of Defense and our service members with the resources they need to defeat the national security threats we face.”

The NDAA is one of the most important pieces of legislation that the US Congress must pass each year. The law determines the budget for all aspects of the defense sector - from subsidies for military personnel, increased purchases of warships and aircraft to military aid policy.

The NDAA for fiscal year 2025 (October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025) authorizes an increase in annual US military spending to a record $895 billion, including purchases of warships, aircraft and weapons, along with provisions to enhance competitiveness with China and Russia.

NDAA 2025 also increases US support for Israel and expands military resources to prevent migrants from crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. Regarding Ukraine, the bill only requires a report on the US Department of Defense’s efforts to draw “lessons learned” from the conflict.

In addition, the bill also focuses on improving the quality of life for US soldiers, including allowing a 14.5% pay increase for the lowest-ranking soldiers and 4.5% for the rest - a higher increase than usual.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/my-duyet-chi-ky-luc-cho-ngan-sach-quoc-phong-doc-manh-hau-bao-cho-israel-con-ukraine-thi-sao-297906.html