House Veterans: There is bipartisan support for reducing the national debt
Rep. Cory Mills, Republican of Florida, and Rep. Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts, appeared on “Fox News Sunday” to discuss future payments from the United States to Ukraine, military spending and the balance of the national debt, and the Pentagon. We discussed the company's failure to pass an audit for seven consecutive years.
The House voted to pass the annual defense bill Wednesday, adding about $1 trillion more to the $36 trillion national debt.
The 1,800-page bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), details how the $895.2 billion earmarked for defense and national security will be spent.
On Wednesday, the bill passed 281-140, with 16 Republicans voting against it. Only 81 Democrats voted for the measure, and 124 voted against it.
The bill now heads to the Senate for passage and then to President Biden's desk for his signature.
124 Democrats oppose historically bipartisan defense bill over restrictions on transgender treatment for minors
The Pentagon is visible from Air Force One flying over Washington on March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semanski)
Passage of the bill comes as the U.S. national debt continues to grow at a rapid pace with no signs of slowing down.
The national debt, which measures the amount the United States owes creditors, has fallen to $36,163,442,396,226.61 as of Dec. 11, according to the latest figures released by the U.S. Treasury. Debt decreased by $8.8 billion from the figure released the previous day.
By comparison, 40 years ago, the national debt hovered around $907 billion.
Pentagon unveils new counter-drone strategy as drone attacks against U.S. interests soar
December 2, 2024 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
An aging population and rising federal health care spending will increase the national debt to a staggering $54 trillion over the next 10 years, according to new findings from the Congressional Budget Office. Rising interest rates are also exacerbating the pain of rising debt.
If this debt materializes, it could jeopardize America's economic standing in the world.
The surge in national debt follows a sharp increase in government spending. president biden And Democrats.
As of September 2022, Biden has already approved approximately $4.8 trillion in borrowing, including a new loan called the American Rescue Plan, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB). It includes $1.85 trillion in coronavirus relief and $370 billion in a bipartisan infrastructure bill. An organization that advocates deficit reduction.
Who is vying for power in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad?
President Biden visits G2A Arena in Jasionka, Poland, with members of the 82nd Airborne Division on March 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
That's about half of the $7.5 trillion that President-elect Trump increased the deficit during his time in office, but far more than the $2.5 trillion he approved at the same point in his first term.
Biden has repeatedly defended his administration's spending and boasted of cutting the budget deficit by $1.7 trillion.
“Parenthetically, I reduced the debt by $1.7 trillion in my first two years. No president has ever done that,” Biden said recently.
However, this figure refers to a reduction in the national deficit from FY2020 to FY2022. The deficit did narrow during this period, but that was mainly due to the expiration of emergency measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transgender rights supporters rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Getty Images)
Despite increasing the national debt, the NDAA was bipartisan, although some Democrats opposed its inclusion of a ban on transgender treatment for military children that could lead to sterilization. did.
The bill also includes a 14.5 percent pay increase for junior noncommissioned officers and a 4.5 percent pay increase for other soldiers, key to improving the quality of life for those serving in the military.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The National Defense Act also includes measures to strengthen deterrence against China, calling for $15.6 billion to be invested in strengthening military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. The Biden administration requested only about $10 billion.
Fox News' Eric Revell and Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
