This archive report was first published on 10 December 2019.
On December 10, 2019, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020 was approved by lawmakers in both the House and Senate armed services committees, paving the way for the creation of a space-based sixth branch of the US military.
The $716 billion budget, a significant increase from the $635 billion allocated to the Pentagon and $23.1 billion for the Department of Energy, will fund a wide range of military activities, including operations in countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Somalia.
The bill also includes a 3.1 percent increase in the salaries of military personnel, their highest in a decade, as well as $5.3 billion in emergency disaster recovery funding for military bases in Florida and North Carolina damaged in hurricanes Florence and Michael.
However, the White House's request for $9.2 billion in emergency funding, which included a portion for a border wall on the Mexican border, was significantly reduced to $5.3 billion.
The creation of the US Space Force, a priority of President Trump's, has been met with controversy, with some lawmakers expressing concerns over the use of Pentagon funds, including a ban on reducing the number of troops deployed in South Korea, delivering F-35 advanced stealth warplanes to Turkey, and buying rail cars or buses from China.
