{"id":21949,"date":"2022-04-05T21:10:07","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T04:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=21949"},"modified":"2022-04-05T21:15:26","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T04:15:26","slug":"democrats-dilemma-back-bidens-pentagon-budget-or-supersize-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/04\/05\/democrats-dilemma-back-bidens-pentagon-budget-or-supersize-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats\u2019 dilemma: Back Biden\u2019s Pentagon budget or supersize it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The White House wants to increase defense spending, yet Republicans are pressuring Democrats to go further.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rep.<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One moderate Armed Services Democrat and a key swing vote, Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, is already backing the push for another sizable defense increase beyond Biden\u2019s level. | Bill O’Leary-Pool\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By CONNOR O\u2019BRIEN<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

04\/05\/2022 04:30 AM EDT (Politico.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debate is heating up on Capitol Hill on funding the military, and Democrats are facing a dilemma \u2014 back President Joe Biden\u2019s historically high Pentagon budget or spend even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a major turnaround for a party that just two years ago was expected to restrain defense spending after budgets soared during the Trump years. Yet the new reality, spurred on by high inflation and a raging land war in Europe, means that Democrats for the second year in a row are looking at rebuffing their own president and adding tens of billions of dollars to the Defense Department\u2019s budget that the agency didn\u2019t ask for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden is seeking a $30 billion boost from the current year that would push overall national defense spending to $813 billion. Despite the hefty increase, Republicans are already putting pressure on Democrats to ladle billions more on top of that once Congress starts going through the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what happened last year, when Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees put aside Biden\u2019s lower Pentagon budget request and drove defense spending higher. But the calculus is complicated by the eye-popping size of the request, high inflation, the unfolding response to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and looming midterm elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armed Services Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Rogers<\/a> of Alabama and Sen. Jim Inhofe<\/a> of Oklahoma, are pushing for a 5 percent increase to defense spending above the rate of inflation and are again counting on enough Democrats to take their side. With the rate of inflation near 8 percent, such a boost could bring the current $743 billion Pentagon budget to well above $800 billion, though Republicans haven\u2019t named a specific figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rep.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) speaks during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Sept. 29, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. | Rod Lamkey\/Pool via AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rogers told POLITICO that last year\u2019s bipartisan vote to increase the defense bill by $25 billion above Biden\u2019s request \u201cwill be a good example of how it\u2019s going to play out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProbably looks a lot like last time,\u201d added Rep. Jim Banks<\/a> (R-Ind.), an Armed Services member who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee. \u201cBiden lowballs it and Republicans push for a much-needed increase, and the way things are going around the world, Democrats get on board because they realize that we don\u2019t have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GOP defense hawks are in lockstep on the push for more military spending to outpace inflation and match challenges posed by China and Russia. All 28 House Armed Services Republicans slammed Biden\u2019s Pentagon budget Monday in a coordinated press release<\/a> ahead of a hearing on the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Democrats will break on the issue is less clear. One moderate Armed Services Democrat and a key swing vote, Rep. Elaine Luria<\/a> of Virginia, is already backing the push for another sizable defense increase beyond Biden\u2019s level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point, I think we need a 5 percent real increase in the budget and I think that our ultimate goal should be to get to 5 percent of GDP, or [approximately] $1 trillion,\u201d Luria told POLITICO. \u201cThat is what it is going to take to modernize the nuclear enterprise \u2026 and to make a serious investment in our shipbuilding and actually be serious about deterring Chinese aggression against Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luria, a retired Navy officer who represents the industry-heavy Hampton Roads region, added that she\u2019s already discussed a potential budget increase with Rogers and other Armed Services Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to get going early on making sure that we can add what needs to be added,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A handful of Democratic defections to the Republican side could tip the topline debate in either the House, where Democrats have just a 12-vote majority and an even narrower margin at the committee level, or the evenly split Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourteen Democrats, including some of the party\u2019s most vulnerable incumbents, backed a $25 billion increase to Biden\u2019s request in the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act<\/a>. In the Senate, only one Armed Services Democrat, progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren<\/a> of Massachusetts, opposed the increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A $1.5 trillion spending deal<\/a> struck in March went even further, allocating nearly $30 billion on top of the administration\u2019s request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And just like last year, Democrats\u2019 tight majorities and their internal divisions over the defense budget mean Pentagon legislation almost certainly needs GOP votes to pass, giving Republicans leverage over the topline and other major policy provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, many Democrats say they\u2019re focused on the capabilities the budget funds, rather than fixating on an overall budget number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t just be a debate about the topline,\u201d House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith<\/a> (D-Wash.) told POLITICO. Smith, who opposed efforts to add money to the defense bill for fiscal 2022, has conceded that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will result in a larger military posture in Europe and higher defense spending<\/a> this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaking sure we\u2019re investing in information systems and survivable equipment and understanding how warfare has changed. All that matters, too,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd we want to make sure we keep that as a central part of the debate while we will also, ultimately I\u2019m sure, debate the number.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Democratic caucus is already facing divisions over the Pentagon budget. Progressive lawmakers have sought to constrain, and even cut, defense spending. That push came up short last year when centrist Democrats sided with Republicans to boost the budget. And fresh spending spurred by the Ukraine crisis has further scrambled progressives\u2019 efforts to hold the line on the Pentagon budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of regular national defense spending, which totals $782 billion this year, lawmakers allocated $6.5 billion in emergency funding for positioning more U.S. troops in Europe, providing weapons and equipment to Ukraine and replenishing Pentagon stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top lawmakers in both parties have indicated they\u2019ll be receptive to further requests for money to deal with Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. As a result of the crisis, most Democrats are ready to accept the $30 billion defense increase proposed by the White House, according to House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth<\/a> (D-Ky.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there is less resistance to the increase basically because of what\u2019s been going on in the last month, it\u2019s pretty obvious that we\u2019re going to have an increased presence in Europe,\u201d Yarmuth said. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019ll be as much pushback as there would otherwise be about raising defense by $30 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Yarmuth doubts there\u2019s momentum in the caucus for giving the Pentagon more money than it requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody wants to go higher,\u201d he predicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then again, it\u2019s an election year. Some Democrats who supported giving the Pentagon more money than it requested for the current fiscal year aren\u2019t ruling out doing so again, while noting that what matters is what the budget buys rather than the topline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt sounds simple, but I want to be resourced to counter the threats,\u201d Rep. Elissa Slotkin<\/a> (D-Mich.) said. \u201cAnd I am willing to spend money to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust as the Chinese have invested so heavily in certain technologies, I am willing to really double down and invest in the thing we care about, and that often means more money,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I also want to see what kind of work the Pentagon is doing to cut out the fat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton<\/a>, a Marine veteran who also backed more Pentagon spending, called it \u201cabsurd to be talking about toplines and not talking about what\u2019s in the budget.\u201d Rep. Mikie Sherrill<\/a> (D-N.J.), a Navy veteran, added that she views the budget \u201cnot as much about the topline as what we\u2019re investing in.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley will make the case for the fiscal 2023 Pentagon budget at a House hearing on Tuesday morning. Biden\u2019s overall national defense proposal of $813 billion included $773 billion for the Pentagon, up from $743 billion the Defense Department ultimately received for fiscal 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed budget is the largest ever in nominal terms, but represents just a 1.5 percent increase when accounting for inflation. Republicans argue that runaway inflation will devour the billions of dollars Congress poured into the Pentagon \u2014 which includes billions for more aircraft, ships and other weapons systems. Austin and Milley will likely face pointed questions about whether the administration\u2019s request adequately accounts for that and the risks incurred by budget tradeoffs, such as shrinking the Army\u2019s ranks and retiring ships early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, with a military budget request exceeding $800 billion, some Democrats who once backed more defense spending may be willing to go only so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have confidence overall in what the president is requesting and I wouldn\u2019t see the need to push that any higher,\u201d said Rep. Anthony Brown<\/a> (D-Md.), an Armed Services member who supported a higher defense budget in last year\u2019s defense policy deliberations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Tim Kaine<\/a> (D-Va.) said he\u2019s satisfied with \u201cthe basics\u201d of Biden\u2019s budget, including the Pentagon topline, but said it \u201cwould be premature\u201d to say whether he would back more defense spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The individual military services are also outlining their top priorities that weren\u2019t included in the budget, providing fodder for lawmakers to make additions to the plan. So far, the Navy has sent lawmakers a list totaling $4 billion in unfunded needs and the Marines have outlined $3.5 billion in off-budget priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With midterms looming that could sweep Republicans back into majorities in both chambers, lawmakers are unlikely to agree on funding levels for the Pentagon and other federal agencies until after the elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats and Republicans didn\u2019t hammer out a final government funding agreement this year until nearly halfway through the fiscal year, leaving most military and other federal spending on autopilot for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Democrats agreed to a substantial defense increase in exchange for a cash infusion for their own priorities on the non-defense side of the federal ledger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do think this is a nation with resources that can do both,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Contributed by Gwyllm Llwydd)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The White House wants to increase defense spending, yet Republicans are pressuring Democrats to go further. One moderate Armed Services Democrat and a key swing vote, Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, is already backing the push for another sizable defense increase beyond Biden\u2019s level. | Bill O’Leary-Pool\/Getty Images By CONNOR O\u2019BRIEN… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21949"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21949"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21956,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21949\/revisions\/21956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}