Pentagon Press Briefing room at the  Pentagon in Washington DC (Credit: US DOD)

By  Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON   DC   –    PENTAGON  –   The U.S. House on Tuesday passed a $768 billion defense policy bill, boosting the Pentagon’s budget some $24 billion above President Biden’s request.  The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will likely be voted on later this week, before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden.  The budget includes a 2.7% pay increase for military service members and Defense Department civilian employees, and $300 million in military aid to the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative.  The Pentagon’s budget balances  readiness today and future modernization that will deter rising China aggression and help Ukraine amid Russia’s threats,  U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.  The budget  aims to keep pace with  China,  the Pentagon chief said.  After 20 years of counterinsurgency operations around the world, the budget would invest in new capabilities that will provide deterrence against near-peer competitors,  Austin said.   It will invest in hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, micro-electronics, 5G technology, space-based systems, shipbuilding and nuclear modernization. The FY22 budget includes  $28 billion to modernize the nuclear triad and $112 billion for research, development, test and evaluation.  Austin said it’s the largest research and development request the department has ever made.  The budget would allow the department to divest itself of older systems and platforms that are no longer needed. This would include older ships, aircraft, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms that demand more maintenance, upkeep and risk than the military can afford, Austin said.

China is increasing its military capability at a “very serious and sustained rate”   –   U.S Army  Gen.  Milley   

An aerial view of the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 11, 2021. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase)

Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,  appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee defending the Pentagon’s budget request in June,  Gen. Milley  said China is increasing its military capability at a very serious and sustained rate, and the United States must retain the competitive and technological edge against this pacing threat.

Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefs the media on Afghanistan, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Aug. 18, 2021. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)