Last week, House Armed Services subcommittees approved their portions of the Pentagon’s annual policy bill, indicating support for a big pay raise for troops and some resistance to ship retirements. But the panels left the biggest question unresolved: how much defense funding to authorize.
Republicans feel the Biden administration’s $773 billion request for fiscal 2023 is too low and are pressing for an increase that is significantly greater than the inflation rate, currently running above 8 percent.
Many hawkish Democrats may also want to see the topline increased, to give the Pentagon more buying power. But party leaders are leery of giving up the leverage of the Pentagon’s budget in funding negotiations for the entire government. In exchange for increasing the defense budget, which will frustrate the party’s progressive wing, Democrats are likely to push for increased domestic spending for key priorities.
