Obama's Budget Seeks $534 Billion for Pentagon

WASHINGTON — President Obama is asking the new Republican Congress for a base defense budget of $534 billion in 2016, the Pentagon said on Monday in its annual budget release, exceeding by $35 billion the mandatory across-the-board reductions known as sequestration.

Separately, Mr. Obama is asking for an additional $51 billion to fund operations in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, as well as the continued American military presence in Afghanistan.

The release said that a return to mandatory across-the-board spending cuts “would be irresponsible and dangerous, resulting in a force too small and ill equipped to respond to the full range of potential threats to the nation.”

The New York Times