By Mike Stone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republicans in the U.S. Congress plan to introduce a sweeping $150 billion defense package that will give an initial $27 billion boost to President Donald Trump’s controversial Golden Dome missile defense shield and bolstering shipbuilding, according to a document and a congressional aide.
The measure would supercharge the national defense budget with new money to build 14 warships and lift homeland security spending. This will add $150 billion to the already approved $886 billion national security budget for 2025. It will be part of Trump’s sweeping tax cuts bill, which will cut taxes by about $5 trillion and add approximately $5.7 trillion to the federal government’s debt over the next decade.
The Republican leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees hammered out the legislation that will be unveiled as soon as Friday evening, Republican Senator Roger Wicker told Reuters in an interview. He is chairman of the Senate committee.
The measure, details of which have not been previously reported, includes a $27 billion investment in Golden Dome to build more missile interceptors and purchase Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antiballistic missile batteries, according to the congressional aide. THAAD is made by Lockheed Martin.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part that would track incoming missiles as part of the Golden Dome program, Reuters reported last week.
The bill’s focus on strengthening the country’s military presence, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, is a key component of a broader strategy to prevent conflict.
“Strength, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, will make China less eager to break the status quo, which has led to a vast global prosperity among people who’ve never had it before. This is part of a plan to prevent war.”
He said it was designed to address the military’s most pressing needs, with a focus on supercharging key areas such as naval shipbuilding, missile defense, and space sensing.
The bill includes a range of provisions aimed at enhancing the country’s military capabilities. The largest item is $29 billion for the procurement of 14 new ships, and a “historic” investment in unmanned ships, according to the document seen by Reuters.
The legislation also provides significant funding for the development of innovative technologies, including a $5 billion investment in autonomous systems, a substantial increase from the $500 million allocated by the Biden administration.
Additionally, the package includes $20 billion in funding for the production of new munitions, the expansion of the country’s supplier base, and the replenishment of critical minerals stockpiles.
Notably, much of the funding allocated in this package will not expire at the end of the fiscal year, providing a significant boost to the country’s defense capabilities.
The measure will move forward through the process of reconciliation, a parliamentary procedure that allows Congress to pass budget-related bills with a simple majority vote, bypassing the usual 60-vote threshold required for most legislation.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders and David Gregorio)
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