US Congress passes huge $886 bn defense budget for 2024

AFP, Washington :

The US Congress approved a staggering defense budget of $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 defense posture in the Indo-Pacific region” and counter China’s rising influence there.
The document also extends a military aid program to Ukraine, allowing the gradual release of $300 million for Kyiv.
That sum is much less than the separate $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.