Iran Press/ America: US President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law a nearly $858 billion defense spending bill to fund the Defense Department and set national security policies for fiscal year 2023, but includes ending a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that Biden would rather keep.
The act means a 4.6 percent pay raise for military and civilian members of the department, and includes $45 billion more than originally requested to counter the effects of inflation and to accelerate implementation of the National Defense Strategy.
The act also authorizes $30.3 billion for national security programs in the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and $378 million for other defense-related activities.
The defense budget increases appropriations to a record $847.3 billion from $778 billion last year. Ten billion dollars is allocated for military aid to Taiwan and $800 million to Ukraine. Another six billion dollars will go to deterring Russia in Europe.
The multi-page document prescribes seeking Russia's exclusion from a number of international organizations, including the G20, imposing sanctions for engaging in foreign currency transactions with Russia, and prohibiting the exchange of missile defense information with the Russian side. 219
Ashkan Salehian
