Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Monday publicized his plans for the omnibus spending package as a victory for Republicans to boost defense spending above the rate of inflation and increase nondefense spending at a lower rate than inflation, resulting in a cut.
“The administration wanted to cut funding for our armed forces after inflation while massively increasing spending on nondefense. Republicans have taken the president’s bizarre position and flipped it on its head,” he said on the Senate floor.
McConnell said the bill, which will be released to the public on Monday afternoon, “provides a substantial real-dollar increase to the defense baseline and a substantial real-dollar cut to the nondefense, non-veterans baseline.”
Republican sources say the boost in defense-related spending is more dramatic than the “real-dollar cut” to nondefense spending when the increase in spending on military veterans, classified as nondefense, is factored in.
“The bipartisan bill that our colleagues have negotiated equips our armed forces with the resources they need while cutting nondefense, non-veteran spending in real dollars,” he said. “This is a strong outcome for Republicans, and much more importantly, it’s the outcome that our nation’s security.”
The consumer price index, measuring inflation, rose by 7.1% over the past 12 months. According to McConnell, the omnibus will increase defense spending by more than 7.1% while increasing nondefense spending by smaller percentages.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was disappointed that nondefense social spending programs received a smaller allocation than defense programs on Monday afternoon.
McConnell is “in a bargaining position,” Durbin said, and “taking advantage of his leverage.”
“I don’t like it, but we’re in a pretty desperate situation,” Durbin added, referring to the Democrats’ loss of the House majority in the midterm elections.
Democrats wish to strike a deal with McConnell and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala, on the Senate Appropriations Committee, all before the new Congress in January.