2019 budget provides $82B increase from ’17

WASHINGTON >> The U.S. Senate on Monday voted to give the military $716 billion for 2019, approving one of the biggest defense budgets in modern American history despite concerns from some economists and lawmakers about the rapidly rising federal deficit.

The 2019 military budget, approved by an overwhelming 85 to 10 margin, gives America’s armed forces a substantial $82 billion increase from 2017.

The military has called the additional funding necessary to improve its ability to respond to international crises, while critics say Congress should not be giving a significant boost to spending at the Department of Defense at a moment of relatively diminished American military involvement around the globe. About 17 percent of America’s $4 trillion federal budget goes to the military, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Budget experts said the dramatic increase in military spending will exacerbate America’s debt hole, by pushing the government further into the red and increasing the amount the federal government spends on debt interest payments.

Congress’ official budget scorekeeper recently projected the federal deficit will rise to more than $1 trillion a year by 2020, sparking concerns among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress that spending is growing at an unsustainable rate and could trigger higher inflation.