The president of the United States, Joe Biden, presented this Thursday a budget proposal in which he asks Congress to approve 6,000 million dollars for Ukraine and to strengthen Washington’s alliance with NATO and its allies in Europe.
Of these 6,000 million, at least 1,700 million will be allocated to “help Ukraine win the war”, to “lay the foundations for peace” and to “support other partners affected by the war”, detailed the Department of State.
These items are part of the budget plan for fiscal year 2024 (from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024) made public by the White House and which is usually the start of the president’s negotiations with Congress, the body with authority to approve the budget.
Apart from Ukraine, the project includes several items aimed at containing China and strengthening US alliances in the Indo-Pacific. Specifically, it includes 2.3 billion dollars for the Department of State and the Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen US alliances in Asia and guarantee an “open” and “safe” Indo-Pacific, it is that is, in which the influence of China is contained.
It also calls for a discretionary $400 million for US diplomacy to “counter China’s problematic behaviors globally.” In addition, the Government requests 6,000 million dollars to invest in economic development and infrastructure in various Asian nations.
On the other hand, the part of the budget destined for Defense contains a request to Congress for 9,100 million dollars in “key investments”, the nature of which is not specified but whose objective is to demonstrate the commitment of the United States to its allies in Asia.
The Defense and Foreign Policy sections of the budget also include funds to increase the number of Afghan refugees granted asylum in the US and other items to defend democracy and fight cyberattacks.
In the text, Biden requests Congress to increase the funds allocated to the Department of Defense by 3.2%, which would have a total budget of 842,000 million dollars. He also asks for an 11% increase compared to last year for the State Department and other cooperation programs, which would have 70.5 billion dollars if Congress accepts the president’s requests.
If the budget is approved, the State Department would have 3,200 million to fight corruption in other countries, as well as 3,000 million to promote gender equality in the world. The budget presented this Thursday is only a starting point in the negotiations between Biden and Congress, so it could undergo changes
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