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Biden administration proposes increase in 2022 defense budget
In total, the administration sought $1.5 trillion for the year starting Oct. 1, up 8.4 percent, with an emphasis on education, health care and measures to address climate change, according to an overview of Biden's request for the so-called discretionary funding.
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US President Joe Biden (center) speaks, flanked by the nominees to positions as 4-star Combatant Commanders General Jacqueline Van Ovost (2nd left) and Lieutenant General Laura Richardson (2nd right), Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during International Women's Day in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on March 8, 2021. (Agence France Presse/Mandel Ngan)
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he administration of US President Joe Biden on Friday proposed $753 billion for national defense programs in fiscal 2022, a 1.7 percent increase from the current fiscal year, as part of efforts to ensure military capabilities to counter China.
In total, the administration sought $1.5 trillion for the year starting Oct. 1, up 8.4 percent, with an emphasis on education, health care and measures to address climate change, according to an overview of Biden's request for the so-called discretionary funding.
Roughly one-third of the US budget consists of discretionary spending, of which about half goes to national defense. The other two-thirds of the budget is mandatory spending for benefits such as social security.
The request proposed to Congress included discretionary funding proposals only. The administration said a comprehensive budget plan, including mandatory investments and tax reforms, will be released later this spring.
In the summary of the discretionary funding request, the administration said it is prioritizing "the need to counter the threat from China while also deterring destabilizing behavior by Russia."
The administration also said it is asking for a "significant increase" in resources for efforts such as defending democracies around the world and advancing human rights, while seeking spending to maintain US naval power, modernize nuclear deterrence for the security of the United States and its allies, and develop hypersonic strike capabilities.
But the Democratic president's defense budget request met with disappointment from some key Republican lawmakers, who viewed the spending as insufficient to prepare for long-term competition with China and asserted the need for sustainable investment in all "national security tools."
The $715 billion earmarked for the Defense Department in the request would be 1.6 percent higher than the current level, but Bloomberg reported the figure would amount to a decrease of about 0.4 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers said in a joint statement that Biden's defense spending plan "doesn't even keep up with inflation."
"Cutting America's defense budget completely undermines Washington Democrats' tough talk on China and calls into question the administration's willingness to confront the Chinese Communist Party," they said.
In an effort to tackle climate change, a key priority for Biden, the administration proposed an increase of more than $14 billion across government agencies to invest in clean energy and put the country on a path to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050.
It also sought $102.8 billion for the Department of Education, up 40.8 percent from the current level, and $133.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, up 23.1 percent.
The administration said Biden is seeking to reverse a trend after the nation "significantly underinvested in core public services, benefits, and protections" over the past decade "due in large measure to overly restrictive budget caps."
