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
