Lawmakers in both parties linked arms in an overwhelming vote authorizing an increase in the Pentagon’s budget of roughly $24 billion more than President Biden requested.
The Senate on Wednesday passed a $768 billion defense bill, sending legislation to President Biden that will increase the Pentagon’s budget by roughly $24 billion more than he requested. The bill, which angered antiwar progressives who had hoped Democrats’ unified control of Washington would lead to significant cuts in military spending, passed overwhelmingly on a 89-10 vote. It includes significant increases for initiatives intended to counter China and bolster Ukraine, as well as for more ships, jets, and fighter planes than the Pentagon requested. The lopsided votes, both in the Senate and the House, which passed the legislation last week, underscored the bipartisan commitment in Congress to increase federal spending on defense initiatives, as lawmakers cited rising threats from China and Russia and previewed a looming race over military technology. “Our nation faces an enormous range of security challenges,” said Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee. “To that end, this bill makes great progress. It addresses a road range of pressing issues from strategic competition with China and Russia, to disruptive technologies like hypersonics, A.I. and quantum computing, to modernizing our ships, aircraft and vehicles.” That focus — shifting attention away from on the ground conflicts in the Middle East in favor of a renewed concentration on Beijing and Moscow — echoes the foreign policy vision Mr. Biden outlined this summer as he ended America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan.
