WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden’s budget request for fiscal year 2022 made it clear that defense isn’t his top priority, at a time when the Chinese communist regime is building its military power and posing a threat to U.S. security interests.
The president’s budget for the fiscal year 2022, released on May 28, seeks $752.9 billion for national defense, $715 billion of which is for the Pentagon. When compared to the fiscal year 2021 budget, the requested amount for the Department of Defense in 2022 reflects only a 1.6 percent increase.
“Defense is not a Biden administration priority,” Elaine McCusker, a defense budget expert at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), said on June 1 at a virtual event hosted by AEI.
“Defense was the only federal function to not even keep pace with inflation, while domestic agencies went up by 16 percent, including a 41 percent increase for the Department of Education. Also of note, the only federal agency to take a cut at 10 percent was the Corps of Engineers.”
For example, the Department of Health and Human Services would receive a 23.4 percent increase and the Environmental Protection Agency would get a 21.6 percent boost in funding, according to the budget plan.
“And there is an attempt to redefine what constitutes a national security investment to divert defense funds to non-core activities,” McCusker said.
She pointed out there was no mention of military capabilities among critical investments under the heading “Confronting 21st Century Security Challenges” in the budget, while COVID-19 foreign assistance, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, and establishing a global health security agenda were among the administration’s commitments listed.
BY EMEL AKAN
