By Natalie Armbruster
On Jul. 14, 2022, the House passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2023 with a vote of 329-101. President Joe Biden originally requested $802.4 billion for national defense programs with $772.5 billion for the Department of Defense. In its version, the House approved $839.3 billion for national defense, an astounding $71.1 billion more than the amount allocated in the 2022 NDAA and $37 billion more than what Biden requested. The Senate has yet to approve its version of the bill, but the Senate Committee on Armed Services has recommended even more than the House: $857.46 billion in defense spending, with $817.15 billion for the Department of Defense.
These proposals reflect the only position Washington appears to agree on: increasing an already oversized military budget with little to no push back or debate. In 2021, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) killed the $2.2 trillion, 10-year Build Back Better plan over fears of inflation and the national debt. Yet, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) griped about the ever-growing Pentagon budget: “Isn’t it strange how even as we end the longest war in our nation’s history, concerns about the deficit and national debt seem to melt away?” According to the most recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data from 2021, the United States spends more than the next nine countries combined, which include China, India, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea. And recent audits reveal massive government waste in this seismic budget.
While the enormity of the defense spending proposed in the 2023 NDAA remains disappointing, there are a few measures that, if implemented, would be a welcome realignment toward a more humanitarian and restrained US foreign policy instead of simply more of the same.
NECESSARY REALIGNMENTS
Restricting US arms sales is one such category. The recent approval of Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia is a reminder that the United States should have stopped enabling Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen years ago. The sad fact remains that as long as the United States supports Riyadh with offensive capabilities, Saudi Arabia will continue to perpetuate its war in Yemen, which is an inhumane intervention with little to no impact on US security interests. The highest priority for the United States should continue to be avoiding entanglement and strategic recklessness when restricting these arms sales. However, disincentivizing rogue allies like Turkey and unhelpful partners like Saudi Arabia, as well as making it harder for them to continue the human rights abuses they perpetrate, would be an added bonus.
This piece was originally published in Inkstick on August 4, 2022. Read more HERE.