据《俄罗斯卫星通讯社》4月10日报道

拜登政府提出的2022财年国防预算案纲要同时遭到了民主与共和两党议员的强烈批评，认为在疫情流行、经济衰退、气候危机的大环境下，该预算提案仍然罔顾美国人民的当前急需，为发展战争武器增加了120亿美元，而且预算总额高于特朗普政府，犯了“极为严重的错误”。参众两院一些民主党议员称，应该把保障美国人民放在第一位，总统候选人桑德斯认为美国在军事上的花费过多了，已经超过了排在美国其后的12个国家国防预算的总和。曾任福特、卡特、克林顿三任政府劳工部长的莱克称，拜登政府最不该做的事情就是增加军费。知名记者格林沃尔德公开指责现任国防部长奥斯汀曾是雷神公司董事会成员，暗指其代表军工企业利益。知名主持人奈特称，这样的预算案表明，美国军事与工业联合体仍然在控制腐败的两个政党。但是，共和党议员却批评该预算提案远远不够与中俄竞争。众议院武装力量委员会主席罗杰斯称，这个预算仍显“廋骨嶙峋”，不足以达到拜登承诺的与中国大干一场的规模，认为拜登也只是空谈而已。参议院多数党领袖麦康奈尔与参议院武装力量委员会主席发表联合声明称，这个预算案不仅向美国的对手中俄，也向美国盟国和伙伴传递了可怕的信号。

‘Grave Mistake’: Biden’s Proposed Military Spending Dismays Democrats and Republicans Alike

 10.04.2021(updated 10.04.2021)Get short URL by Lilia Dergacheva

In a newly released budget outline , President Joe Biden has proposed a $753 billion defence budget for 2022, including $715 billion to cover the Pentagon’s expenses.

In a budget proposal released online on Friday, President Joe Biden has proposed spending $753 billion on defence for the 2022 fiscal year, including $715 billion going directly to the Pentagon.

As a result, Biden finds himself in the crosshairs of politicians and lawmakers from both sides of the divide.

The proposal, which envisages a $1.5-trillion budget for 2022, was greeted with scorn by Republicans and Democrats alike over its suggested funding for defence.

Even figures from within his own party weighed in, arguing that such a whopping budget, which is higher than the Trump administration’s, would be a “a grave mistake.” They stated that Americans should be the top priority instead, given the still raging coronavirus pandemic.

“The Biden admin’s budget adds $12 billion for weapons of war – just think how this could be used to fight inequality in our communities. Let’s put the people first,” said Barbara Lee, representative for California’s 13th congressional district.

“Increasing that budget now would be a grave mistake,” Senator from Massachusetts Ed Markey argued, fuming that the already “inflated Pentagon budget did nothing to protect” citizens from the most pressing social and economic woes.

• President Biden wants $715 billion for the Dept. of Defense, a 1.5% increase over last year. The already inflated Pentagon budget did nothing to protect us from a global pandemic, an economic recession, or the climate crisis. Increasing that budget now would be a grave mistake.

— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) April 9, 2021

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who was one of the authors of a letter to Biden earlier this year calling for him to “significantly” cut defence spending, called the proposed increases “unacceptable.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in turn demanded an investigation into “the waste and fraud that currently exists at the Pentagon,” pointing out that the United States “already spends more on the military than the next 12 nations combined.”

“The last thing we need is a bigger military budget,” tweeted former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, who served under Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.

US Representative Ro Khanna of California, a prominent liberal Democratic voice on security issues, said the military spending proposal was nothing but “disappointing” and that it opened up the possibility of “wasteful spending” on missiles among other things.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald noted that the news didn’t come as a surprise since Biden’s Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is a member of the Board of  Directors at defence contractor Raytheon.

• I’m really surprised that after Biden chose a member of the Board of Directors of Raytheon to be his Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon is seeking a record military budget of $753 billion, more than Trump spent in any of his 4 years. Go figure.

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 9, 2021

Another journo, podcast host Ryan Knight, suggested the defence plan signals that the “military-industrial complex STILL controls both corrupt political parties.”

New Budget Plan ‘a Terrible Signal’ to Both Foes and Allies

Republicans, meanwhile, took a different angle, arguing that Biden’s proposed military spending is not enough to compete with China, despite his earlier promises.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, noted that “the Biden administration has talked a big game towards China. Unfortunately, the release of their skinny budget today indicates it is just talk.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the top Republicans on the Senate Armed Services, Intelligence, Budget, and Appropriations committees issued a joint statement, similarly suggesting that the proposal sends “a terrible signal not only to our adversaries in Beijing and Moscow, but also to our allies and partners.”

On Friday, POTUS sent his first discretionary funding request to Congress, setting out a budget plan for a period starting in October – he included cash flows to the Technology Modernisation Fund and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to better fight hacking attempts. Overall, the Biden administration requested $769 billion in non-defence spending (16 percent up from the fiscal year 2021), and $753 billion in national defence projects (roughly a 2 percent increase).

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