Latest news with #militaryBudget
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Trump's "one big beautiful bill" holdout Sen. Rand Paul says "the math doesn't really add up"
Washington — Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said Sunday that "the math doesn't really add up" on the cost of President Trump's "one big beautiful bill," while outlining his opposition as the legislation moves to the Senate this week. "I think they're asking for too much money," Paul said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Paul is among a handful of Senate Republicans who have expressed opposition to the centerpiece legislation of Mr. Trump's second term agenda that addresses the president's tax, defense and energy priorities and which the House narrowly approved last month. The Kentucky Republican argued Sunday that with the legislation, "there's going to be a lot of extra money" going toward "padding the military budget" and additional border security when "the President has essentially stopped the border flow without new money and without any legislation." But Paul's red line, he indicated, is on the legislation's provision that would to raise the debt ceiling. The House-passed bill includes a $4 trillion debt ceiling hike, while the Senate's budget blueprint contained a $5 trillion increase. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told congressional leaders earlier this month that the federal government could be unable to pay its bills as soon as August if Congress doesn't act. Paul has advocated for removing the debt ceiling provision from the bill and voting on the issue separately. Paul said he wants to vote for the legislation and its tax components should the debt ceiling component be removed, saying "in all likelihood, I can vote for what the agreement is on the rest of the bill, and it doesn't have to be perfect to my liking." But for him, the debt ceiling increase is a nonstarter. "If I vote for the $5 trillion debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt?" Paul said. "The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." Congressional Republicans have sought to raise the debt ceiling as part of the broader budget package because the reconciliation process that governs the bill allows them to move forward without support from across the aisle. Separating the debt ceiling component from the broader bill would mean Senate Republicans would have to negotiate with Democrats, giving them an opportunity to extract leverage despite the GOP majorities in Congress. Still, Paul argued that the Republicans who support the spending increase should be the ones responsible for voting for a debt ceiling increase, noting that Democrats have historically supported raising the debt limit as well. The Kentucky Republican has also proposed smaller increases that suspend the debt limit for a matter of months, forcing lawmakers to verify that spending cuts have been implemented before approving a further hike. Mr. Trump warned Paul about opposing the legislation in a post on Truth Social Saturday, saying "Rand will be playing right into the hands of the Democrats, and the GREAT people of Kentucky will never forgive him!" Meanwhile, Bessent, who also appeared Sunday on "Face the Nation," pushed back on the bill's forecasted impact on the deficit, pointing to income from tariffs among other things that he said will improve the full picture. The treasury secretary said changes to the bill will be "the Senate's decision," noting that he's been working closely with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, whom he said has been "doing a fantastic job." "Everyone said that Speaker Johnson would not be able to get this bill out of the House with his slim majority – he got it out, " Bessent said. "Leader Thune has a bigger majority, and this is with President Trump's leadership." Asked about the administration's red lines as the bill heads to the Senate, Bessent pointed to some of the president's campaign promises, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, among others, which he said would "have to stay in." On the debt limit, Bessent urged that "the United States of America is never going to default." But he declined to specify an X date, or the date the U.S. will run out of money to pay its bills. "That is never going to happen," he added. "We are on the warning track, and we will never hit the wall."
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spain and Portugal show little enthusiasm for defence spending hike
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul encountered little enthusiasm for increased defence spending during his visit to Spain and Portugal on Monday. Germany is seeking to shore up support for a massive hike in defence spending, with both Wadephul and Chancellor Friedrich Merz backing a proposal to increase defence-related spending by NATO members to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), with an additional 1.5% for military infrastructure. Such an increase in spending would require a massive financial commitment by NATO countries. When asked by journalists after the meeting with Wadephul whether Spain was prepared to increase its defence budget to 5% of GDP in future, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares responded that Spain is making greater efforts in the defence sector than ever before. However, Albares described the existing NATO target of 2% of GDP as "realistic." Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel meanwhile said his country would "naturally" support a decision to increase the military budget, but admitted that the target of 2% had "not yet been fully" achieved. US President Donald Trump, signalling he is tired of European countries piggy-backing on Washington's massive defence budget, is pushing for defence spending to be raised to 5% of GDP. Spain is currently among the alliance's members spending least on defence, with military expenditure amounting to some 1.3% of GDP - well below the current target of at least 2%. While Portugal recently raised defence spending, expenditure in Europe's westernmost nation only stood at 1.6% of GDP in 2024.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Dutch leader says NATO's chief insists allies should spend at least 3.5% of GDP on defense budgets
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said Friday that NATO's chief wants the 32 member countries to agree to start spending at least 3.5% of gross domestic product on their defense budgets at a summit in the Netherlands next month. In 2023, as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine entered its second year, NATO leaders agreed that all allies should spend at least 2% of GDP. They are expected to set a new goal at a meeting in The Hague on June 25. President Donald Trump insists that U.S. allies should commit to spending at least 5%, but that would require investment at an unprecedented scale. Still, Trump has cast doubt over whether the United States would defend allies that spend too little. Schoof told reporters that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has written to the member nations to tell them that 'he expects the NATO summit to aim for 3.5% hard military spending by 2032.' Rutte also wrote that he expects a commitment to '1.5% related spending such as infrastructure, cybersecurity and things like that. Also achievable by 2032,' Schoof said. While the two figures do add up to 5%, factoring in infrastructure and cybersecurity would change the basis on which NATO calculates defense spending. The seven-year time frame is also short by the alliance's usual standards. Asked at NATO's Brussels headquarters about his demand, Rutte said: 'I'm not going to confirm the figures.' He said that 'there are many rumors floating around' as NATO envoys discuss the new spending goal. NATO foreign ministers are likely to debate the numbers again at a meeting in Antalya, Turkey next Wednesday and Thursday. Rutte reaffirmed his public position that 'if we stick at the 2%, we cannot defend ourselves. So we have to really increase defense spending.' Standing alongside Rutte, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that for Germany currently, each 1% of GDP represents around 45 billion euros ($51 billion). Germany was estimated to have spent 2.1% on its military budget last year, according to NATO figures. But Merz said that NATO allies 'also need to discuss infrastructure as well,' including civilian infrastructure – roads, bridges, air and seaports – so that armies can move more quickly around Europe, and not just pure military spending. It remains difficult to see how many allies might reach even 3.5%. NATO's most recent estimates show that 22 allies would reach the 2% goal last year, compared to a previous forecast of 23. Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain would not, although Spain does expect to reach the 2% goal in 2025, a year too late. Even the United States was estimated to have spent 3.19% of GDP in 2024, down from 3.68% a decade ago when all members vowed to increase spending after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. It's the only ally whose spending has dropped.
