US defense outlay keeps bloating as Washington steps up security campaigns
The Donald Trump administration’s large-scale hike in the defense budget, calling it a pillar of the US president’s “Make America Great Again” vision, indicates the US is readying a bigger money chest for defense under Trump but the question is whether it is feasible.
“American might is second to none and we’re getting bigger and better and stronger every day,” Trump declared in the hangar bay of aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford on July 22, 2017, as thousands cheered.
“Wherever this vessel cuts through the horizon, our allies will rest easy and our enemies will shake with fear because everyone will know that America is coming, and America is coming strong,” Trump said when the carrier, one of the most powerful hardware items to be added to the US military’s arsenal, was commissioned.
Six months after assuming office, Trump paid a second visit to the vessel, where he touted the ship’s power, taunted America’s enemies, and promised full backing for a stronger military.
It was no empty talk. The US already had the world’s most powerful military, and now, with Trump’s blessings, Congress has approved a whopping $700-billion defense budget in fiscal year 2018, a $100-billion increase from 2017.
Though the approved figure has surpassed a cap of $549 billion imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act and may be blocked, it’s clear that Congress is preparing a bigger money chest for defense under Trump.
For the army, the money means 17,000 more recruits in 2018, and there are financial incentives to retain those already in service.
For the navy, the extra cash can help Washington get closer to its goal of expanding the size of its fleet from 270 to 355 in the next few decades.
For the air force, the bigger check can go a long way in procuring stealth fighter aircraft, the F-35s, whose unit price sank below $100 million in 2017 for the first time.
The National Security Strategy, released in December, outlines the government’s military and foreign policies.
According to the document, the US will keep combating extremist groups in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, prepare for possible conflicts with North Korea over its development of nuclear weapons, and keep up the pressure on Iran, with whom Washington’s relationship became increasingly adversarial in the past year.
Trump’s actions follow his campaign promise in 2016 to prioritize military build-up.
But unlike many of his other initiatives, beefing up the military has, by and large, won the support of lawmakers across the aisle.
Republicans in both the House and Senate allowed more budget than the White House’s demand.
Trump’s arguments for more defense spending were in part supported by government reports which said some units, such as the navy’s Seventh Fleet, are suffering from insufficient training and rest.