Republicans stand against Pentagon military spending plans: Politico

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Politico
18 Jun 2023 21:11

Politico reports on the Republican's demand for significant cuts to the program.

The US military fires a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) during a live-fire exercise on April 26, 2023, in San Antonio, the Philippines (AFP)

Republican opposition may ultimately result in the Pentagon's ambitious plan to increase missile production being scaled back, according to Politico.

It is believed that GOP members of the House Appropriations Committee wanted severe changes to the program, embodied by major cuts.

The media source asserted on Saturday that members were pushing for spending reductions of more than $2.5 billion in the field of missile procurement, citing a draft committee report.

According to Politico, they said the Pentagon had failed to demonstrate that purchasing missiles in greater quantities would necessarily result in reduced prices.

The panel made the decision to divert the money to other uses, such as military training, maintenance, and R&D.

"The committee is particularly concerned [that] the Department [of Defense] cannot provide realistic cost estimates and has proceeded with these multi-year procurement requests without a firm understanding of each program’s unit cost and production capacity," the representatives allegedly wrote in their report.

Read: Only $6 billion remain of $48 billion US aid package to Kiev: Politico

The initial idea for multi-year ammunition purchases was a component of President Joe Biden's campaign to increase defense expenditure while the nation continues to give Ukraine military aid worth billions of dollars. Growing concerns about a potential clash with China, according to the article, was another important element.

Republican committee members' cuts have reportedly drawn criticism from their Democratic counterparts. When the report is released the following week, Politico projected that a confrontation between the two parties would probably break out in the House and Senate.

Bloomberg, meanwhile, warned last week that the latest defense aid offer from Washington to Kiev could experience protracted delays in implementation since the weaponry would need to be contracted and produced first.

The US has been by far the most significant provider of weapons to Ukraine since Russia began its military campaign against the neighboring nation.

Moscow has constantly denounced Western arm transfers to Kiev, arguing that they only serve to escalate the crisis and threaten further protracted fighting.