U s defence spending could mushroom as senate approves bill to pump $700 billion into military

U s defence spending could mushroom as senate approves bill to pump $700 billion into military

The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a sweeping defence policy bill that would pump $700 billion into the military, putting the U.S. armed forces on track for a budget greater than at any time during the decade-plus wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senators passed the legislation by an 89-8 vote Monday. The measure authorizes $700 billion in military spending for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, expands U.S. missile defences in response to North Korea’s growing hostility and refuses to allow excess military bases to be closed.

The 1,215-page measure defies a number of White House objections, but President Donald Trump hasn’t threatened to veto the measure. The bill helps him honour a pledge to rebuild an American military that he said had become depleted on former President Barack Obama‘s watch.

An animated McCain, the Armed Services Committee chairman, bemoaned the limits imposed on military spending by both Democrats and Republicans. He said the rash of training accidents and crashes – since mid-July, nearly 100 service members have been killed or injured in close to a dozen mishaps – can be linked to the budget cuts.

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said senior military leaders are taking a close look at whether strict budget constraints are to blame.

Approved by the Armed Services Committee by a 27-0 vote in late June, the overall Senate bill provides $640 billion for core Pentagon operations, such as buying weapons and paying troops, and another $60 billion for wartime missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Trump’s budget request sought $603 billion for basic functions and $65 billion for overseas missions.

With North Korea’s nuclear program a growing threat to the U.S. and its allies, the bill includes $8.5 billion to strengthen U.S. missile and defence systems. That’s $630 million more than the Trump administration sought for those programs, according to a committee analysis.

North Korea last week conducted its longest-ever test flight of a ballistic missile, firing an intermediate-range weapon over U.S. ally Japan into the northern Pacific Ocean. The launch signalled both defiance of its rivals and a significant technological advance.

The White House, in a statement issued earlier this month, called the order for more interceptors “premature” given the Pentagon’s ongoing review of missile defence programs.

The bill allots $10.6 billion for 94 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, which is two dozen more than Trump requested. The bill also provides $25 billion to pay for 13 ships, which is $5 billion and five ships more than the Trump sought.