President Biden finds himself in the middle of a contentious debate between progressives and vulnerable centrist Democrats over how much to spend on defense.
Liberals like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are not happy with Biden’s $31 billion proposed increase for the Pentagon when their social spending priorities are in limbo because of concern about the nation’s mounting debt.
At the same time, vulnerable incumbents such as Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) are fending off Republican attacks that Biden is not spending enough on defense when Russia is on the move in Europe and China poses an “over-the-horizon” threat.
It all comes as Biden tacks hard toward the center in a midterm election year where his approval rating is hovering around 40 percent.
Biden’s budget, which he submitted to Congress on Monday, would increase military spending by 4 percent, bringing the national defense budget to $813 billion.
Progressives say this is too much of an increase when they can’t get their stalled human infrastructure spending programs funded because of centrist Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) concerns about deficits and inflation.
“I think this year’s number was too much,” said Warren, referring to the $782 billion Congress enacted for national defense in fiscal 2022.
She said that while she understands her colleagues want to beef up the defense budget to fund military assistance to Ukraine, she argues “there is too much unaccountable spending over at the [Department of Defense].”
Increasing military funding at the expense of domestic priorities such as expanding access to child care, which would likely increase workforce participation, is a mistake, Warren said.
“Building a strong economy at home is part of our national defense, and the idea that weapons alone will keep us strong is just plain wrong,” she said.
Sanders, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, also raised concerns on Wednesday about giving the Pentagon more funds when lawmakers can’t account for all of its current spending.
“The Pentagon is the only agency, federal agency, that has not undergone a successful independent audit. Nobody doubts, nobody, that there are tens of billions of dollars in waste and fraud and cost overruns. Tens of billions is a conservative estimate,” Sanders said.
Criticism has also come from the House, where a group of progressive leaders on Monday ripped Biden’s proposal.
“It is simply unacceptable that after the conclusion of our longest war and during a period of Democratic control of both chambers of Congress, the president is proposing record high military spending,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement.
They estimated that nearly half of Biden’s $813 billion defense request will end up going to private military contractors.
“The Pentagon remains unable to pass an audit, and its history of waste, fraud and abuse continues to misuse taxpayer dollars,” they said.
Democratic senators facing tough reelection races argue that defense spending needs to be a priority when the United States is sending billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine.
“We want to make sure the Ukrainians have what they need to fight back against this illegal invasion,” said Kelly, who is a top Republican target in the midterm elections.
“There are costs involved. We’re going to have to replenish our personal supply of Javelins, Stingers, RPGs, small arms. This stuff is expensive, so we’ll take a look at it,” he added.
Warnock, another vulnerable Democratic incumbent, said, “We live in a dangerous world, we need to make our national defense is strong.”
He pointed out that Georgia, which is home to 13 military bases, including the U.S. Army infantry school at Ft. Benning, “is a very strong military state.”
“I’m proud of the ways in which our servicemen and women are standing up in NATO’s defense of that part of the world,” he added, referring to U.S. troops deployed to Eastern Europe to deter further Russian aggression.
The president requested only a 1.6 percent increase in defense spending a year ago, when he was fresh off his win in the 2020 election.
His budget request last year also included a proposed 16 percent increase in domestic spending. This year’s White House budget calls for a smaller domestic spending increase of 14 percent.
Biden has pivoted to the center in an attempt to bolster his weak support among independents and swing voters, who will make up a key bloc in the midterms.
His budget for fiscal 2023 also calls for $1 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. The budget he submitted to Congress last year, by contrast, would have increased deficits by $1.4 trillion over 10 years.
His fiscal plan calls for $32 billion to put more police officers in the streets, something else designed to appeal to centrists.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) said the war in Ukraine is shifting sentiment among Democrats over how much more to spend on military readiness.
“I’m usually pretty reluctant to support those increases, but I think we’re in a moment of history where we need to be very honest about the possibilities,” he said.
Democrats are coming under increasing attack from Republicans, who say Biden isn’t doing enough to counter the growing military threats posed by Russia and China.
Republicans argue a 4 percent increase for defense amounts to a 3 percent funding cut at a time of 7 percent inflation.
“At a dangerous time, the president’s budget falls woefully short on defense funding. Our commander in chief has again failed to budget for the resources that our armed forces need,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the floor Monday.
“The Biden administration proposes a nominal 4 percent increase for defense over the bipartisan bill Congress just passed for this year. That’s a nominal 4 percent increase before any of Democrats’ historic inflation is taken into account. And inflation right now is about twice that,” he said.
—Updated at 12:17 p.m.