<p>Washington: President Joe Biden's overall US defence and national security budget request expected on Monday will be just 1 per cent higher than last year, forcing a slowdown in spending on a wide range of programs and delaying efforts to rebuild weapons stocks depleted by wars in Ukraine and Israel.</p><p>The $895 billion national security budget request, which includes funds for homeland security as well as nuclear weapons-related activities carried out by the Department of Energy, is the result of a two-year budget deal struck in mid-2023 that limited the budget to a 1 per cent increase.</p>.Biden raises $10 million in 24 hours after his State of the Union speech.<p>Under the cap, the Pentagon's share of the national defense budget was expected to be $850 billion. The $30 billion reduction to the Pentagon's funding will curb purchases of the stealthy F-35 jet made by Lockheed Martin and air defenses for Guam, and will delay programs, including slowing orders for an aircraft carrier made by Huntington Ingalls Industries and Virginia-class submarines made by Huntington and General Dynamics.</p><p>The Pentagon was expected to also trim costs by retiring older weaponry like ships and planes that are more expensive to operate.</p><p>Last spring, before the cap was put in place, the Pentagon had estimated in 2025 it would need about $880 billion, and the total national security budget would be $929 billion. But because the budget increase is capped at 1 per cent and smaller than expected, there will be less money to spend.</p><p>The cuts are not final given they will likely spark debate on Capitol Hill that could lead to an increase in the national defense budget to over $900 billion for fiscal 2025, budget watchers say.</p><p>Defense spending accounts for about half of the US discretionary budget; the other half goes to transportation, education, diplomacy and other departments. Entitlements like Social Security, the national retirement fund, constitute the nondiscretionary portion of the budget.</p><p>The 2024 budget, which includes $886 billion for national security, still has not passed Congress. The US government is working under a continuing resolution: a stop-gap measure which caps spending at 2023 levels until a 2024 budget is passed. The current continuing resolution is keeping the government open until later in March.</p><p>The Pentagon order for Lockheed Martin's stealthy fighter will drop to below 70, down from an expected order of 83, for an estimated $1.6 billion drop in spending on the jets.</p>
<p>Washington: President Joe Biden's overall US defence and national security budget request expected on Monday will be just 1 per cent higher than last year, forcing a slowdown in spending on a wide range of programs and delaying efforts to rebuild weapons stocks depleted by wars in Ukraine and Israel.</p><p>The $895 billion national security budget request, which includes funds for homeland security as well as nuclear weapons-related activities carried out by the Department of Energy, is the result of a two-year budget deal struck in mid-2023 that limited the budget to a 1 per cent increase.</p>.Biden raises $10 million in 24 hours after his State of the Union speech.<p>Under the cap, the Pentagon's share of the national defense budget was expected to be $850 billion. The $30 billion reduction to the Pentagon's funding will curb purchases of the stealthy F-35 jet made by Lockheed Martin and air defenses for Guam, and will delay programs, including slowing orders for an aircraft carrier made by Huntington Ingalls Industries and Virginia-class submarines made by Huntington and General Dynamics.</p><p>The Pentagon was expected to also trim costs by retiring older weaponry like ships and planes that are more expensive to operate.</p><p>Last spring, before the cap was put in place, the Pentagon had estimated in 2025 it would need about $880 billion, and the total national security budget would be $929 billion. But because the budget increase is capped at 1 per cent and smaller than expected, there will be less money to spend.</p><p>The cuts are not final given they will likely spark debate on Capitol Hill that could lead to an increase in the national defense budget to over $900 billion for fiscal 2025, budget watchers say.</p><p>Defense spending accounts for about half of the US discretionary budget; the other half goes to transportation, education, diplomacy and other departments. Entitlements like Social Security, the national retirement fund, constitute the nondiscretionary portion of the budget.</p><p>The 2024 budget, which includes $886 billion for national security, still has not passed Congress. The US government is working under a continuing resolution: a stop-gap measure which caps spending at 2023 levels until a 2024 budget is passed. The current continuing resolution is keeping the government open until later in March.</p><p>The Pentagon order for Lockheed Martin's stealthy fighter will drop to below 70, down from an expected order of 83, for an estimated $1.6 billion drop in spending on the jets.</p>