The U.S. Senate today overwhelmingly approved an $886 billion defense budget proposal for the next fiscal year. This is an amount three percent higher than last year.
NDAA
The defense policy bill, referred to by the acronym NDAA, is different from the currently pending U.S. military aid package to Ukraine and Israel. The 3,100-page NDAA proposal could be voted on by the House of Representatives as early as this week, according to Reuters. Democratic President Joe Biden has already announced that he supports the bill and will sign it.
The proposal includes, among other things, a short-term extension of the controversial law on surveillance of foreign citizens using US telecommunications providers, until 19 April. According to its statement, the US government uses the data collected “to protect the United States and its partners from foreign threats, including terrorists and spies” and to strengthen cybersecurity.
Southeast Asia region
Another important point, according to the US media, is the emphasis on deterring possible Chinese aggression; the Southeast Asia region, the so-called Indo-Pacific, could receive $14.7 billion under the proposal, which would be used, among other things, to train Taiwan’s military and strengthen cooperation in the AUKUS-Australia-United States-Britain security pact.
The NDAA also significantly affects personnel policy. The proposal provides for a 5.2 percent increase in the basic pay of U.S. soldiers and monthly bonuses for junior members of the military in the hope that more people will be interested in joining the military. More support should go to the relatives of soldiers, the Senate said, and new barracks should be built and old ones renovated at a faster pace.
Source Czech Press Office
