It is not only a squabble as to who will be moving to the White House in the fall elections, but GOPs and Dems are also having their own battle in the Senate, and this time around, it is an issue on spending.
Senate Republicans and Democrats do not see eye to eye when it comes to spending on certain programs, particularly on defense ones. The latter would like for nondefense programs to receive equal treatment with defense ones, but Republicans are not giving in.
Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Republican Leader, said in a report by The Hill that he would not accept the demand of the other party to give the same increases to nondefense programs, as the defense ones are receiving. McConnell said defense programs must be considered as a higher priority.
McConnell declared that he simply could not accept a dollar-for-dollar parity when it comes to increases between defense and nondefense spending.
"We have two major competitors, the Russians and the Chinese. We have the Iranians and we have their proxies. This is the most dangerous time since the Berlin Wall came down, and the defense spending needs to reflect the needs of our country, which clearly argues against having an arbitrary line that doesn't spend more on defense than domestic," said McConnell in The Hill's report.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee support the stand of McConnell. She underscored how underfunded the defense is and also pointed out the global threats that the country faces, which is why parity between the programs could not be achieved.
"There's a huge gap between what is needed and what the budget would provide under the 1 percent increase," Collins said in New York Times report. "At this time when the world is so dangerous, we need to be prepared."
Both McConnell and Collins are pushing back on the demand for parity between the two programs after Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) insisted that defense and nondefense programs be increased in parity.
"For me the word of the day, today and every day until we pass our funding bills, is going to be 'parity.' By that I mean that when my Republican colleagues insist that despite the Fiscal Responsibility Act we need to boost spending in national security, I will also insist the boost to defense spending be matched with a similar increase to investments here at home," Murray said.
There are also Democrats who are supporting Murrays call to increase nondefense programs in the same manner as the defense ones.
