US to add $11 billion to its record-high $858 billion military budget

News, US March 13, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The U.S. government has asked for an additional increase in its already record-high $858 billion defense budget. An additional sum of $11 billion would be added to the Navy and Marine Corps budget this year increasing it from $244.7 billion to $256 billion.

White House released an official request for the U.S. Congress to approve the additional budget for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The budget request was made earlier this week on March 9, 2023, however, the Pentagon is yet to provide the details about the spending of the additional budget.

According to some sources, the additional budget would mainly be spent on the improvement of shipyards, maintenance of submarines, and upgrading the naval fleet. Additional funds would also be used to increase the salaries of the servicemen.

According to a defense budget overview document released by the White House, the additional budget would propose “executable and responsible investments in the U.S. Navy fleet.” The document further stated that “The budget also continues the recapitalization of the nation’s strategic ballistic missile submarine fleet while investing in the submarine industrial base.”

The budget request was conveyed through a letter from U.S. President Joe Biden to the U.S. Congress. The letter read that the budget would be spent to focus on deepening the partnership with the U.S. allies and maintaining a military advantage against China. Biden wrote that the budget “outlines crucial investments to out-compete China globally and to continue support for Ukraine in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression.”

Royal Australian Navy guided-missile frigate HMAS Parramatta (FFH 154), left, sails with U.S. Navy Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) in South China Sea on April 18, 2020. — ^{Royal Australian Navy guided-missile frigate HMAS Parramatta (FFH 154), left, sails with U.S. Navy Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) in the South China Sea on April 18, 2020. (Image Credit: U.S. Navy)}

ALSO READ: United States Defense Budget for 2023

In December 2022, the U.S. Congress signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) officially approving a record funding bill for the Pentagon and the U.S. defense programs. The NDAA for the financial year 2023 was marked at a record $858 billion. A major share of the budget was designated for the Department of Defence while most of the rest was destined for national security programs within the Department of Energy.

The amount approved for defense spending in 2023 already exceeded the defense spending by any other nation in the world and it is $45 billion more than the previous year. An additional request for $11 billion would increase the budget by $56 billion compared to the U.S. defense budget in 2022.

The U.S.’s yearly defense budget usually exceeds that of the next nine countries combined. Washington’s defense spending in 2021 accounted for almost 40 percent of the world’s total military spending.

The NDAA document indicated that the U.S. seeks to expand its footholds in the Indo-Pacific region by investing more in the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. By increasing the Navy and Marine Corps budget further, the U.S. is determined to challenge China’s growing maritime and naval supremacy in the region.