Military leaders propose FY2024 budget to Congress

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requested increased spending in the Indo-Pacific region before a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. Austin described China as the “pacing challenge” to the United States and said the Defense Department is driving hard to keep up. That includes moving away from dated technology and toward technology that will help U.S. forces in future conflicts.

Will the military get this money? Austin said if the United States defaulted on its debt, the military couldn’t pay service members’ salaries predictably. He added that if the government adopted a continuing resolution, the military wouldn’t be able to increase spending in programs that it might need to keep pace with China.

Dig deeper: Read Kim Henderson’s report in WORLD Magazine about the ongoing search for missing American war heroes.