WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today in response to the Biden Administration’s release of their Fiscal Year 2023 defense budget topline:

“Senate Republicans have long said the obvious: our next defense budget needs to provide for real increases in readiness and security in the face of soaring inflation,” Wicker said. “But this budget does not even uphold that modest standard.”

“A brutal dictator who hopes to break NATO is launching a massive land war against our friends in Ukraine. China continues to grow its naval fleet and high-tech weaponry at stunning rates. Iran is in pursuit of a nuclear weapon, and North Korea is again ramping up ballistic missile tests. Our world is more dangerous than it has been since the height of the Cold War.

“To meet this challenge, our top military brass from all branches are wisely asking for more. More ships, more planes, more weapons, more satellites, and more training. But President Biden is instead providing them less to complete their mission. This is strategically unsound and could increase the risk of future conflicts and threats to our country.

“Congress must now do the work of steering this budget toward success, as it has done before on a bipartisan basis. This moment demands decisiveness and strength through a sustained increase in defense spending. We will ensure that America meets that moment, even if the Commander-in-Chief has other priorities.”

The budget offered by President Biden tops out at $773 billion, a four percent increase from Fiscal Year 2022. Inflation is currently soaring at an eight percent rate.

Read more about Senator Wicker’s advocacy for a larger defense budget here and here. Read more about his recent national security initiatives here.