Biden's $770B Pentagon Budget Proposal Denounced As "Absurd" By Progressive Dems

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With legislation to reduce childhood poverty and advance renewable energy stalled in Congress, the Biden administration is expected to request more than $770 billion in Pentagon and related spending for the fiscal year beginning in October. "This is absurd," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said in response to the news.

The expected budget request, first reported by Reuters Wednesday, is tens of billions of dollars more than former Republican President Donald Trump ever requested and contrasts with widespread public demand for increased investment in middle- and lower-class Americans and an end to bloated military budgets.

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According to Reuters, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been negotiating with the White House Office of Management and Budget, arriving at a proposed budget that far exceeds those requested by Trump. Modernization of the United States' nuclear arsenal and development of weapons to "to fight any potential future wars against China and Russia" have been identified by the administration as "must pay[s]," according to Reuters. Shipbuilding, space defense capabilities, and spending on F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin are also priorities in the requested budget.

Congress is likely to build on the proposed spending package and arrive at a number that exceeds the one suggested by Austin and President Joe Biden, as lawmakers did after Trump proposed nearly $753 billion for the Pentagon, Reuters reported.

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