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US Congress approves defense budget proposal amounting to $901 billion

Ultimately, the lawmakers arrived at a compromise

WASHINGTON, December 17. /TASS/. The US Congress has approved the country’s military budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year, amounting to a record $901 billion, according to the vote in the Senate, the upper house of the USlegislative body, broadcast by the C-SPAN television channel.

At least 77 senators voted in favor of the bill, which was also approved on December 10 by the lower House of Representatives, while 20 voted against. Thus, Congress has supported the military budget proposal, which will now be sent for signing by US President Donald Trump.

The military budget proposed earlier by lawmakers exceeds the US President’s request by $8 billion: Trump had asked Congress to allocate $892.6 billion for military needs. This amount includes funding for both the Pentagon and other agencies and programs related to defense and security. Initially, the House of Representatives proposed an amount equivalent to the administration’s request, while the Senate proposed increasing the military budget to $925 billion. Ultimately, the lawmakers arrived at a compromise.

The budget proposal, in particular, allocates $400 million each to support Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. Furthermore, the bill imposes an obligation on the Pentagon's head to report to the House of Representatives and the Senate on the temporary suspension or cessation of providing intelligence data to Ukraine. The US military budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, amounted to $884 billion.

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