US Congress passes huge US$886bn defence budget
The US Congress approved a staggering defence budget of US$886 billion for 2024 on Thursday, while also extending a controversial overseas electronic surveillance system widely used by US intelligence services. The vast spending bill, adopted in the House of Representatives after a vote in the Senate on Wednesday, provides billions of dollars to "enhance US deterrence and defence posture in the Indo-Pacific region." The document also extends a military aid programme to Ukraine, allowing the gradual release of US$300 million for Kyiv. That sum is much less than the separate US$61 billion requested by the US and Ukrainian presidents from Congress by the end of the year, a gigantic package for arming Ukraine that is still being debated. The bill also extends by several months a law governing overseas electronic surveillance of foreign individuals, which has been widely criticised by privacy groups and which was about to expire. The programme allows US security services to conduct electronic surveillance programmes – including through email snooping – of non-US nationals abroad, without seeking a judicial warrant. FBI Director Christopher Wray this week urged Congress to renew the law, arguing that allowing it to lapse would be equivalent to "unilateral disarmament." The new budget also gives a five-percent pay hike to military personnel. The bill did not include additional measures put forward by Republicans to restrict access to abortion for military personnel and prohibit the Pentagon from flying the LGBT+ pride flag on its bases. The document of more than 3,000 pages will now go to the desk of President Joe Biden for final approval. (AFP)