The president’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget is expected to include $715 billion in defense funding and Gen. Lloyd Austin, secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) and a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, said he believes the planned budget is sufficient to pursue the development of new capabilities DOD needs, DOD News reported Thursday.
"This budget provides us the ability to create the right mix of capabilities to defend this nation and to deter any aggressors," Austin said Thursday in his testimony before the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee.
He said DOD has prioritized technology capabilities to ensure force readiness within the FY22 budget and those include artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons, 5G, microelectronics, shipbuilding, nuclear modernization, and cyber capabilities.
"The budget also invests in efforts to counter the damaging effects of climate change and to be prepared for potential future challenges like another pandemic," Austin told lawmakers.
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