Redistribution of wealth in Biden’s foreign aid plan
Speaking Security Newsletter | Note n°225 | 17 November 2023
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Situation
The short-term spending bill Congress passed this week keeps the government open through early 2024, but it doesn’t include the $106 billion foreign aid request Biden proposed last month — that’s expected to be at the top of Congress’ to-do list after Thanksgiving recess. The request of utmost importance to the White House: After all, Biden made a rare address to the nation last month specifically to pitch the proposal before its formal release the next day. The administration has been marketing the thing pretty aggressively ever since.
Marketing
The White House says spending this $106 billion is both a national security imperative and an economic boon. I think the main reason for the economic argument (that arming Israel and Ukraine creates jobs here) is because the Biden administration knows not everyone is buying the security argument (that arming Israel and/or Ukraine is a vital national interest). People are right to be skeptical of Biden’s claim that his foreign aid proposal is in fact an “investment” in the country’s security. As I argued this week in The Nation, I think it’s better described as corporate welfare.
Redistribution of wealth
I estimate that military contractors would ultimately receive $60 billion in revenue if Biden’s foreign aid plan is enacted as is. Between that and the expected contracts produced by the ordinary ‘base’ Pentagon budget for FY2024, the arms industry can expect $559 billion(!) in revenue. For perspective, Biden’s famous infrastructure bill has $548 billion spread out over five years.
^Alt text for screen readers: Military contractors stand to gain $60 billion from Biden’s foreign aid request. This table displays components of the foreign aid plan, their amounts, and the estimated revenue for military contractors. Ukraine military aid, $46.8 billion requested, $41.2 billion expected to go to contractors; Israel military aid, $14.3 billion, $13.6 billion; Ukraine non-military aid, $12.3 billion, $0; humanitarian aid, $12.1 billion, $0; US border, $8.2 billion, $0; immigration, $5.4 billion, $0; US military shipbuilding, $3.4 billion, $2.9 billion; counter-China programs, $3.3 billion, $2 billion. Amounts refer to OMB’s $106 billion emergency funding request from 20 October 2023. Projected revenues based on author’s analysis of DOD contracting data. Author: Stephen Semler, @stephensemler.
-Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)
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