While social spending is pared back, Congress passes the largest defense budget since WWII without much of a debate. Why are Democrats doing this?
By Fred Kaplan, Slate
By an overwhelming margin, the House passed a bill to spend $778 billion on defense next year, $25 billion more than what President Joe Biden had requested. The Senate is expected to second the motion within days.
The sum—a five percent increase over last year’s defense bill—amounts to the nation’s largest military-spending bill since World War II, even adjusting for inflation.
Yet no officials or lawmakers have spelled out why the budget—which includes $740 billion for the Pentagon and $28 billion for the Energy Department’s nuclear-weapons programs—needs to be quite this huge. (Another $10 billion is for defense-related activities by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and a few other agencie).
Recent Posts
The State’s War on the Left Didn’t Begin With Trump — But He’s Escalating It
Take Action Now Trump’s war on the left blends “war on terror” language with Cold War McCarthyism.By Chip Gibbons, Truthout The Trump…
Autonomous Weapons: The Wave of the Future in Military Conflicts Worldwide
Take Action Now Algorithms are choosing bombing targets and are already responsible for killing civilians in some major conflict zones.By Thalif…
As Trump Denies and Delays, the World Races to Meet the Climate Clock Deadline
Take Action Now It may sound like all is lost. On the contrary: Solutions abound, and there are many reasons for hope.By Gan Golan and Andrew…
U.S. Military Personnel of Conscience: Active Duty Air Force Major Calls for the Impeachment of President Trump
Take Action Now During the Trump administration, many who have privately dissented from the endless illegal policies have been fired, in particular…