Congress approved the US military’s annual budget

This week, the House and Senate both overwhelmingly approved a new $886 billion defense spending and policy bill, sending the measure to President Biden who is expected to sign it into law shortly.

The bipartisan defense package is $28 billion higher compared to the previous year, and represents ~14% of America’s overall federal budget (the third largest line item behind Social Security and Medicare). It authorizes a wide range of provisions for the fiscal year 2024, including:

• A 5.2% pay raise for all US service members, the largest annual bump in over two decades.
• $14.7 billion towards deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region and increasing the frequency and scale of US military exercises in the area.
• A two-year extension of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funding for companies to produce weapons and military services for Ukraine.

The bill also extends a controversial law allowing the US to monitor the communications of foreign nationals without a warrant, which has been called into question after the FBI admitted it used the measure to spy on Americans.

Zoom out: The Department of Defense could only account for roughly half of its $3.8 trillion worth of assets in the 2023 fiscal year – a big fat audit “F,” according to a report published last month.

The Pentagon has now failed six straight audits dating back to 2018, when its first such inspection occurred. (And if you’re wondering how many other government agencies are unable to pass an audit, the answer is zero.)

👀 Looking ahead… US lawmakers are still negotiating the Biden admin’s $106 billion national security supplemental request, which includes $60 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and nearly $14 billion to assist Israel in its conflict with Hamas.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, is the US government spending too much, too little, or about the right amount on its defense budget?

• Too much
• Too little
• About the right amount