Let’s start with the good news about the “spending caps deal:”
Finally, a substantial boost to the Pentagon’s budget. Yesterday I mentioned the complaint by Defense secretary James Mattis that funding the government through continuing resolutions was eating away at the Pentagon’s ability to make long-term spending decisions. Mattis sounds genuinely pleased with this deal:
Steep increases in U.S. defense spending over the next two years -- up more than 15 percent in 2018 alone, the largest boost in more than a decade and a half.
The full agreement remains to be hammered out between the House and Senate, but Defense Secretary James Mattis pronounced himself “very happy with $700 [billion] for this year, and $716 [billion] for next.”
This adds up to the biggest increase in defense spending since 2003.
The domestic spending is mostly aimed at genuine national priorities. Republicans dislike “increased domestic spending” in general, but ...
