The Think Tanks Advising Congress on Military Spending Take Money From the Arms Industry
The Senate is considering increasing the Pentagon’s budget to $850 billion. Think tanks are key advisers to the Senate on such increases — and a look at those think tanks’ funding reveals they’re all getting money from weapons manufacturers.
M1A2 Abrams tanks stand on the grounds of the First Brigade of the Third Infantry Division (Raider Brigade) during a visit by the German president to US forces in Grafenwoehr, Bavaria, Germany. (Daniel Karmann / picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Senate might vote on the fiscal year 2023 military budget this month. Or it might not; nobody’s sure. What’s for certain is that the bill the Senate considers will have at least as much as $850 billion for the Pentagon. In other words, we’re staring down a $72-billion year-to-year increase in military spending with this legislation: the FY 2022 version of the same bill (National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA) licensed $778 billion for the Pentagon.
How We Got to an $850 Billion Pentagon Budget
In March, Joe Biden proposed increasing annual military spending by $35 billion — to $813 billion — as part of his FY 2023 budget request. In June, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) added another $37 billion on top of that before advancing the $850 billion bill to the House floor for approval.
This decision was reportedly a matter of course for the committee. According to one HASC member, there was “almost no debate” on dumping another $37 billion on top of Biden’s own proposed increase. An overlooked reason why the committee’s move was so automatic was the “expertise” that made a $72 billion year-to-year increase seem appropriate or even natural.
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