Washington (EFE) of defense spending.
The debate in the Senate, with a Democratic majority, started at around 2:30 p.m. this Thursday (6:30 p.m. GMT) and it was expected that the text would be voted on today after its approval the day before in the Lower House, in Republican hands, although it is The delay may lead to the vote being delayed until Friday.
The draft law is the result of an agreement announced last weekend between US President Joe Biden and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, to raise the debt ceiling.
Congressionally Funded Programs
The bill contemplates a slight decrease in spending for programs funded by Congress in areas other than national defense, such as health, education, and environmental protection; and includes an increase in defense funds of 3%, below the current inflation level.
One of the most forceful Republican senators in his rejection of the defense cut draft was South Carolina lawmaker Lindsey Graham, who criticized his fellow House party members and McCarthy.
“To my colleagues in the House (of Representatives), I cannot believe you have done this,” Graham said in his speech on the floor this Thursday.
Defense spending guarantees
And addressing McCarthy, he added: “I know you have a hard job, I like you, but Ronald Reagan’s party is dying, don’t tell me that the defense budget, which is 42,000 million dollars below inflation, finances totally the Armed Forces”, he lamented.
The veteran senator has threatened to block a full vote on the measure unless he is given guarantees that defense spending can be increased.
Along with Graham, other conservative senators expressed themselves in a similar way: In fact, Rep. Tom Cotton, who represents Arkansas, introduced an amendment to increase defense funding in the bill to raise the debt.
“The budget should not shape our defense needs,” warned Cotton, who considered that those needs should be the ones that make up the budget.
The US is facing default on its debt on June 5, the date set by the Treasury Department, if it does not first approve the bill to raise the limit of the money that the country can request to meet its financial obligations .
unnecessary delay
If approved, the legislative initiative would suspend the current debt limit of $31.4 trillion until January 1, 2025.
The leader of the Democratic majority in the Lower House, Chuck Schumer, had promised this Thursday to expedite the processing of the draft and affirmed that the chamber would remain in session until this project was approved.
In this sense, he warned that any “unnecessary delay” would be “an unnecessary and even dangerous risk” for the country.
However, Graham made it clear that he is going to try to slow the process down.
“Our Armed Forces are weakened daily, this budget that we are about to approve makes all the problems worse,” he considered. I want to end the war in Ukraine by defeating (Vladimir) Putin, if you don’t want him, he will continue.”
“And we are going to have a conflict between NATO and Russia, and our troops will end up involved if they don’t send a clear signal now. China will see this as an opportunity to jump on Taiwan,” said Graham, who encouraged senators to stay in the chamber for as long as it takes to reach a defense compromise.