Biden signs record US defence budget with US$300 million for Ukraine

On Friday 22 December, US President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides a record US$886 billion for defence needs in the fiscal year 2024.

Source: European Pravda with reference to a statement by the White House

Details: In his statement, Biden welcomed the passing of legislation that provides "the critical authorities we need to build the military required to deter future conflicts, while supporting service members and their spouses and families who carry out that mission every day."

At the same time, he expressed several reservations about provisions of the Act which, in his opinion, limit the US president's ability to represent the country in the international arena and may lead to the disclosure of confidential information.

Congress finally agreed on the Act on 14 December. It does not contain several amendments that the House had passed during the summer to remove what they called "woke" Pentagon policies. 

Among other things, the final version of the document does not contain restrictions on the Pentagon's abortion policy or a Pentagon ban on funding gender-affirming treatment for workers and the military.

However, a provision to extend the controversial programme of surveillance of foreigners by the Federal Bureau of Investigation until early 2025 remains.

Regarding Ukraine, the bill extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, authorising the allocation of US$300 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 (i.e. until September 2025) within its framework.

The funds to support Ukraine included in the US defence budget are separate from the US$111 billion supplemental funding bill, which is stuck in Congress.

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