No consensus yet on military spending for next year, except for more of it – By Bryant Harris, Joe Gould and Leo Shane III (Defense News) / June 22, 2022
WASHINGTON — House lawmakers on Wednesday offered new and conflicting plans for defense spending next year, teeing up intense congressional debate in the coming months over the right level of military funding for fiscal 2023.
Lawmakers appear to agree the White House plan for military spending next year — about $773 billion, roughly a 4% increase from current spending levels — will be the floor for the defense budget plan.
But the figures could go much higher as centrist Democrats and Republicans push progressives and Democratic leaders to spend more because of inflation, increasing worldwide threats and lingering unmet military needs.
On Wednesday afternoon, lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee agreed to increase defense spending by $37 billion over White House plans as part of their debate on the annual defense authorization bill.
