{"id":1942990,"date":"2023-06-02T16:04:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T20:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senators-look-to-bypass-defense-spending-caps-in-debt-ceiling-bill\/"},"modified":"2023-06-02T16:07:35","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T20:07:35","slug":"senators-look-to-bypass-defense-spending-caps-in-debt-ceiling-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senators-look-to-bypass-defense-spending-caps-in-debt-ceiling-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators seek to avoid defense spending limits in debt ceiling legislation."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenators-look-to-bypass-defense-spending-caps-in-debt-ceiling-bill%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1942990&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Debt Ceiling Bill: A Threat to National Security?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"post_content\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>The debt ceiling bill came under fire from both Democrat and Republican parties for a variety of reasons. One reason cited by some in the GOP was the top line in defense spending.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The bill\u2014negotiated between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Joe Biden last weekend and passed overwhelmingly in the House on May 31 and the Senate on June 1\u2014includes a commitment to spend almost $886.35 billion on defense in fiscal year 2024 and just over $895.21 billion the following fiscal year.<\/p>\n<p>The criticisms came as the United States continues to deal with numerous geopolitical threats.<\/p>\n<h3>Geopolitical Threats<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>China is threatening to invade Taiwan, having conducted a great number of fighter jet exercises near the island nation. And Beijing has taken over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/houses-new-china-competition-committee-marks-important-step-in-confronting-ccps-threats\/\" title=\"House\u2019s New China-Competition Committee Marks Important Step in Confronting CCP\u2019s Threats\">man-made islands<\/a> in the Indo-Pacific, where it has a major naval presence.<\/li>\n<li>Iran\u2019s nuclear program shows no signs of slowing down while the world\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-biden-gives-up-u-s-leverage-over-iran-offers-to-restart-nuclear-deal-talks\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Biden Gives Up U.S. Leverage Over Iran, Offers To Restart Nuclear Deal Talks\">leading state sponsor<\/a> of terrorism is reportedly planning to increase its attacks on U.S. military personnel in Syria.<\/li>\n<li>Russia has sought to take over Ukraine since February 2022, but has failed to do so and now faces a Ukrainian counteroffensive.<\/li>\n<li>North Korea, with its own nuclear program, poses a threat to U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan and South Korea.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To prevent further cuts to defense spending, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on June 1 filed an amendment to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nrcc-threatens-vulnerable-democrats-to-pressure-biden-to-restart-debt-ceiling-negotiations\/\" title=\"NRCC threatens to put pressure on Democrats who are helpless to get Biden to reset debt ceiling talks.\">debt ceiling package<\/a>, using the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, as the baseline funding level for sequester. It failed, 48\u201351, and therefore there will be a 1 percent cut across the board if Congress does not pass all 12 appropriations bills on time. It would kick in on Jan. 1. Were the appropriations bills not to be enacted by the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, a continuing resolution, or CR, would need to be passed to fund the government between Oct. 1 and Jan. 1, McCarthy told The Epoch Times on May 31.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>On the Senate floor on June 1, hours before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senators-look-to-bypass-defense-spending-caps-in-debt-ceiling-bill\/\" title=\"Senators seek to avoid defense spending limits in debt ceiling legislation.\">upper congressional chamber passed<\/a> the debt ceiling bill, Cotton and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) called for a supplemental defense spending measure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5161921\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/03\/30\/id5161921-image_6483441-2-1200x800.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/03\/30\/id5161921-image_6483441-2-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) speaks at the National Review Institute\u2019s Ideas Summit on March 30, 2023. (Courtesy of NRI)\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>\u2018Mortal Risk\u2019 to Cut Defense Budget\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Cotton, who voted against the bill, warned that it \u201cposes a mortal risk to our national security by cutting our defense budget\u201d and that \u201cdomestic spending will go up and defense spending will go down if the sequester kicks in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham remarked that the bill would make America ill-prepared to deal with threats from abroad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot say with a straight face that this military budget is a counter to Chinese aggression, that it adequately allows us to defeat Putin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot say with a straight face that this budget represents the threats America faces. A military budget should be based on threats, not political deals to avoid default.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham noted that, according to Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, amid today\u2019s global threats, the United States needs 373 manned ships and 150 unmanned platforms, thereby requiring an increase of 5 percent above inflation. Unless that occurs, said Graham, there would be, in fiscal year 2025, 10 fewer ships than the 296 manned ships currently in use.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe topline is inadequate, the CR is devastating, and what bothers me the most is that we would put the Department of Defense in this position. We are playing with the men and women\u2019s lives in [the] military, their ability to defend themselves, as some chess game in Washington,\u201d said Graham.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, this is checkers at best,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe fact that you would punish the military because we can\u2019t do our jobs as politicians is a pretty sad moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan weighed defense spending against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-official-trump-crushes-record-for-largest-gdp-increase-in-us-history-3rd-quarter-gdp-up-33-1\/\" title=\"IT'S OFFICIAL: Trump Crushes Record for Largest GDP Increase in US History -- 3rd Quarter GDP Up 33.1%\">gross domestic product<\/a> (GDP).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe number one priority of the U.S. Congress should be, in my view, what percentage of our national wealth we\u2019re dedicating to defense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis budget will take us in the next two years\u2014with the cut this year, inflation-adjusted cut of 4 to 5 percent, and a nominal increase next year of 1 percent, which would be about a 5 to 6 percent cut\u2014it will take us below the 3 percent of GDP number for defense for the first time since 1999, during the peace dividend era of the [Bill] Clinton administration,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cWe will be below 3 percent of GDP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan, who voted against the bill, cited what percentage of GDP the United States has spent on conflicts: 15 percent with the Korean War; 8 percent with <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The debt ceiling bill faced criticism from both parties, including the GOP&#8217;s concern over defense spending. The bill was negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden, and passed in the House on May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2097,"featured_media":1942991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[5454,10142,5487,3998,4762,7041,4165,3709,3834],"class_list":["post-1942990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times","tag-avoid","tag-ceiling","tag-debt","tag-defense","tag-legislation","tag-limits","tag-seek","tag-senators","tag-spending"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2097"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1942990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1942991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1942990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1942990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1942990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}