Reference News Network July 3 report - According to the U.S. "Defense News" weekly website, July 2 report, the U.S. Senate on July 1 passed a massive spending bill, which includes a one-time additional funding of $15 billion that the Pentagon hopes to receive in fiscal year 2026.

This tax, healthcare and border security bill has long been viewed by U.S. President Trump as the core of his legislative agenda. The bill will now be returned to the House of Representatives for final review.

The 940-page "big and beautiful" bill includes $15 billion in military funds, which will be used for shipbuilding, the "Gold Dome" national missile defense program, ammunition, and other important priorities.

The Pentagon said this plan should be included in the Department of Defense's overall defense budget plan for next year, and defense officials also included expenditure priorities usually listed in the base spending plan in this plan.

In the delayed budget request submitted last week, the Department of Defense proposed a base budget of $84.8 billion, which, considering inflation, is actually a reduction from previous years. Nevertheless, the Pentagon also hopes to obtain an additional $11.3 billion in funds from Congress's supplemental appropriations bill, bringing total military spending to about $96 billion.

However, many senior Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress believe that this unusual arrangement would cause unnecessary confusion for the Pentagon and the defense industry responsible for major weapons programs.

But senior defense and military officials refuted this view in their funding application briefing, saying that this large appropriation would reassure some companies - companies that have become accustomed to Congress starting the new fiscal year with so-called "continuing resolutions" to temporarily fund the budget.

A official said that the government may also maintain military spending at close to $100 billion next year, although the appropriate benchmark has not yet been decided.

If not done, the Department of Defense will face extremely difficult choices when deciding how to re-integrate the priority items from the one-time appropriation plan into the annual budget. (Translated by Wang Dongdong)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7522659456774144564/

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