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(The Guardian) Sprawling defense bill will 'restore warrior ethos', House speaker says
Lawmakers have unveiled an annual defense policy bill authorizing a record $901bn in national security spending next year.
The budget for the defense department is $8bn more than the $892.6bn in the Trump administration’s budget request for the department.
The sweeping 3,000-page bill includes a 4% raise for enlisted troops, with the legislation seeking to codify some of Donald Trump’s executive orders, including those aimed at accelerating American manufacturing of drones, and developing the so-called “Golden Dome” missile defense system that the White House envisions will protect the US from possible foreign strikes.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives will be cut under the bill, which will see troops deployed to the south-west US border to apparently intercept undocumented immigrants and drugs.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said the legislation would advance Trump’s agenda by “ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos.”
European officials will be pleased to read that the bill prevents the Pentagon from cutting the number of troops permanently stationed or deployed to Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days.
This is unless the defense secretary and head of the US European Command certify to Congress that the deployment is against America’s national security interest, and will have to provide assessments of the withdrawal’s impact, among other requirements.
The bill also provides $400m in military assistance to Ukraine, reflecting Kyiv’s need to defend itself against Russia’s continuing aggression.
On another foreign policy front, the bill repeals two resolutions authorizing the use of military force in Iraq in 1991 and 2002.
Lawmakers have unveiled an annual defense policy bill authorizing a record $901bn in national security spending next year.
The budget for the defense department is $8bn more than the $892.6bn in the Trump administration’s budget request for the department.
The sweeping 3,000-page bill includes a 4% raise for enlisted troops, with the legislation seeking to codify some of Donald Trump’s executive orders, including those aimed at accelerating American manufacturing of drones, and developing the so-called “Golden Dome” missile defense system that the White House envisions will protect the US from possible foreign strikes.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives will be cut under the bill, which will see troops deployed to the south-west US border to apparently intercept undocumented immigrants and drugs.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said the legislation would advance Trump’s agenda by “ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos.”
European officials will be pleased to read that the bill prevents the Pentagon from cutting the number of troops permanently stationed or deployed to Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days.
This is unless the defense secretary and head of the US European Command certify to Congress that the deployment is against America’s national security interest, and will have to provide assessments of the withdrawal’s impact, among other requirements.
The bill also provides $400m in military assistance to Ukraine, reflecting Kyiv’s need to defend itself against Russia’s continuing aggression.
On another foreign policy front, the bill repeals two resolutions authorizing the use of military force in Iraq in 1991 and 2002.
