WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden's proposed $773 billion budget for the Defense Department would increase spending on nuclear modernization as well as research and development, while provoking likely opposition in Congress through proposals to cut back on army troops and retire aging Navy ships and Air Force planes.
The request for the fiscal year starting October 1 represents 4.2% nominal growth or 1.5% real growth after accounting for inflation compared with the $742 billion final appropriation for this fiscal year, a senior defense official told reporters. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin successfully pressed Biden to protect the department's purchasing power, according to the official, who discussed the budget on condition of anonymity in advance of its release Monday.
