Record-breaking United States Defense Budget Submission Reaches 12 Quadrillion IDR: Spending On Missiles, Fighter Jets To Help Ukraine

United States military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/DVIDSHUB)

JAKARTA - The Armed Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed a proposal to increase the Department of Defense spending by US$37 billion or around Rp. .464.440.300 million proposed by President Joe Biden. The vote paves the way for the Pentagon's budget of at least $810 billion next year.

Previously, the Senate Armed Services Committee had backed a $45 billion increase in the bill's version. The two chambers of the US Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives) will decide on the highest level, when they meet in a conference on the bill at an undecided date.

The vote in favor of the $37 billion amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was 42-17, as more than a dozen Republican politicians joined Democrats in favor of higher spending.

The amendments include $2.5 billion to help pay for higher fuel costs, $550 million for Ukraine, funding for five ships, eight Boeing F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, five Lockheed-made C-130 Hercules aircraft. Martin and about $1 billion for four Patriot missiles.

President Biden has proposed a record peacetime national defense budget of $813 billion, or about Rp. 12,057,684,300,000,000, of which $773 billion is for the Pentagon. About $40 billion of President Biden's national defense budget is set aside for other national security-related programs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Energy, and other agencies.

Biden's budget calls for a 4.6% salary increase for troops and the largest research and development budget in history, as Russia's aggression in Ukraine spurs demands for more military spending.

Last year, the NDAA authorized $778 billion in defense spending, more than $25 billion proposed by President Biden.