A change at the White House in January 2021, if former VP Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump at the polls, will likely rewrite the Defense Department’s National Defense Strategy (NDS), scuttle plans for a 500-ship Navy, and spend less on the military, according to Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. The progressive wing of the Democrat party is expected to argue for major cuts in defense in order to expand domestic programs. Smith said he's opposed to drastic reductions in military spending. "They want to re-shift priorities" away from defense, Smith said in a virtual chat hosted by the Center for a New American Security. However, major reductions in the current proposals for a defense budget around $741B are likely off the table, Smith said. In the Democratic party platform Biden endorsed, and in previous response to a survey conducted by the Military Officers Association of America, the former VP suggested there was likely a midway point between the hawks and doves on defense spending. "The real question is not how much we invest - it's how we invest," Biden told MOAA. One major difference between the presidential candidates is how they would approach implementing the current NDS, which has the military shifting away from counterterror operations to preparing for potential conflict with Russia and China, Smith said. America should be strengthening alliances with allies during this power competition with Russia and China, he said, rather than committing to "America First" policies of the Trump administration. (Source: Military.com 10/29/20) Center for New American Security is a DC-based think tank established in 2007 by co-founders Michèle Flournoy and Kurt M. Campbell. (Two former President Barrack Obama administration officials.) It specializes in US national security issues. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/10/29/biden-administration-would-rewrite-nds-toss-500-ship-navy-overboard-lawmaker-says.html
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