Buildup of National Defense

WASHINGTON D.C. - The approximate total government spending fornational defense is $646 billion. Taxes that are collected from residents of the US are used by the government to spend on prioritized programs. The decision is made by countless committees, hearings, procedure and effort by the administration. “Mandatory” spending money is used strictly for certain programs such as Medicare. Mandatory spending in FY 2017 is $2.5 trillion. Concerning the national debt, the net interest on the national debt is $269 million. The remaining money, known as discretionary, is to be debated on where it should be used. However, the main focus on the discretionary spending has been a push for an increase in national defense.

On Monday the 18th, the Senate had passed the vote for the NDAA bill. The NDAA is the Senate's version of a defense policy bill that has been passed for 56 consecutive years now. The NDAA ( National Defense Authorization Act) sanctions the levels of defense spending, which for this year is said to be between $600-700 billion for the new upcoming FY which is from October 1st, 2017 to September 30th, 2018.

The bill proposal was led by Senator John McCain from Arizona. McCain is a part of the Senate Armed Services Committee. A formal military participant, McCain urged, “We are gambling with the lives of the best among us and we’re now seeing the cost — the tragic but foreseeable costs of an overworked, strained force with aging equipment and not enough of it.”

The NDAA vote results were 89-9. Four democrats , four republicans and one independent voted Nay on Monday. These US Senators are: Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

The House of Representatives have approved a similar bill proposal in July. Now, a compromise must be made by both houses in order to fully enact this proposal.