Republican leader McConnell calls for higher US defence spending over the next year

WASHINGTON - US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday called on Congress to increase defence spending in the coming year to confront what he termed growing threats from Russia and China.

“In this environment, we need to continue to plus up defence,” he told reporters, adding that other Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) countries also needed to increase their emphasis on defence.

Mr McConnell’s remarks could put him at odds with Republicans in the House of Representatives who are considering proposals to keep defence spending at current levels in fiscal year 2024, which begins on Oct 1, while cutting about US$150 billion (S$201 billion), mainly from non-defence discretionary spending.

House Republicans intend to use the current debt ceiling debate to exact spending cuts from President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

But Mr McConnell, who has taken a back seat to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in debt and spending discussions up to now, said defence allocations must meet the challenges the United States faces on the global stage.

“We have not only Russia and Ukraine... but we have the ongoing challenge of meeting China in the future,” Mr McConnell said at a news conference.

“Our allies around the world are seriously focused now on having defence spending fit the need, and the need, obviously by any estimation, is going up.”

In 2022, Congress passed an omnibus spending Bill that included US$13.4 billion in economic aid for Ukraine and US$2.4 billion to help resettle Ukrainians in the US.

The military aid came on top of a record US$858 billion in US defence spending for the current fiscal year, which marked an increase from US$740 billion and exceeded a request from Mr Biden. REUTERS