As the United States gets ready to welcome new members to its Congress with a newly elected President, a former presidential nominee, John McCain, has revealed a new proposal that seeks a hike in the defence spending, IHS Jane's Defence Weekly has reported.
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The proposal by McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, provides a blueprint for increased spending for the next five years, something that incoming President Donald Trump has been vocal about.
The Congress, controlled by the Republicans, is less likely to be a major obstacle to repeal the budgetary limits that currently exist. Nevertheless, fiscally conservative congressmen/women from both Republican and Democratic parties could play spoilsport to such a proposal.
McCain has already noted that the final bill will not be cheap and it is said to cost around $430 billion over the current budget over the next five years.
The amount in McCain's proposal is said to be only "notional" and does not bestow funding. It is the appropriations bill that has the power to spend government money.
McCain wants the US to buy 59 more ships through 2022 (current plans are for 41). He also wants to lessen the number of additional ships in the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme.
