Biden’s $106 billion funding request, a breakdown

Speaking Security Newsletter | Note n°220 | 23 October 2023

Situation

On Friday, the White House submitted a letter to Congress outlining “critical national security funding needs” as determined by Joe Biden. The proposal totals $105.8 billion, and by my count, its largest component is US military aid to itself — beefing up weapons stockpiles, subsidizing munitions plants and shipyards, etc. Other breakdowns of the spending request, if they’re out there, probably categorize the funding differently.¹

Highlights (lowlights)

Biden’s spending proposal subsidizes genocide in Gaza, an endless proxy war in Ukraine, and an endless cold war with China. It also provides $3.4 billion for the US nuclear fleet and further militarizes the US southern border (including $2.5 billion for ICE, which will be added on top of its regular budget for FY2024). Billions of its economic and humanitarian aid could be saved if the US adopted a more sensible foreign policy approach that manages to get out of its own way. The mammoth $106 billion request fails to include relief for the child care provider grants and extra WIC nutrition program benefits that expired this month, or for the student loan repayments and additional SNAP work requirements that began this month. This is the type of proposal that comes from a president eager to lose re-election.

^Alt text for screen readers: Biden’s $106 billion request subsidizes conflict and enriches military contractors. A breakdown of the $105.8 billion spending request. This table displays components of the funding request with their designated amounts. Pentagon stocks and arms industry subsidies, $30.4 billion; Military aid for Ukraine, $25.1 billion; Economic aid for Ukraine, $14 billion; Military aid for Israel, $8.7 billion; U.S. border enforcement, $8.2 billion; humanitarian aid for Israel/Ukraine, $5.7 billion; U.S. immigration programs, $5.4 billion; refugee aid for Israel/Ukraine, $3.5 billion; military aid for Indo-Pacific, $2 billion; economic aid for various countries, $2 billion; Other costs for Israel/Ukraine, $795 million. Data via Office of Management and Budget’s October 20, 2023 emergency funding request. More at stephensemler.substack.com.

-Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)

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1. Those other tallies probably have $3 billion or so for US Navy shipyards and submarines and higher amounts for military aid to Ukraine and Israel. This is understandable considering how the White House’s request was organized, but I think the way I categorized the request’s funding makes more sense. For example, one section for Ukraine military aid has $12 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (a bilateral military aid program), $657 million for support costs, and $18 billion for the Pentagon to replenish its weapons stocks. Others might include that $18 billion under Ukraine aid, but I count it as US military aid to itself. The funding may in fact be related to Ukraine, but it could also be “for expansion of public and private plans, including the land necessary therefor, and procurement and installation of equipment, appliances….” — i.e., it could be for anything. Another reason is that the Pentagon seems to be double-dipping: one of the Pentagon’s stated reasons for increasing the regular military budget to $886 billion is replacing the matériel sent to Ukraine from US stocks — the same thing this emergency request is purportedly for. What we’ve got is the makings of a slush fund.