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The proposal released Tuesday would increase the Defense Department's base budget to $574.5 billion — $52 billion over congressional spending caps. It would buy six ships, several new fighter jets and munitions, while growing the U.S. fighting force by more than 56,000 service members. Pentagon Chief Financial Officer John Roth told reporters on Tuesday the increases would help with military readiness. "The world has become a more dangerous place," he said. John "JV" Venable, senior research fellow for defense policy at the Heritage Foundation, said the budget would need to continue to increase by about $20 billion to $30 billion each year for the next two years — and sustain that budget increase for several years — to ensure the force is properly funded. "We've put so many demands on our services. We ask so much of them," Venable told VOA. "We have funded it at 75 to 80 percent of what they need to do that job for so long, right now, the dividends are paid in worn equipment and people who are discouraged." The budget also calls for about $65 billion for a contingency fund for overseas operations, including $46 billion for operations in Afghanistan. The remainder of this fund would pay for countering Islamic State operations in Iraq and Syria, bolstering NATO allies and U.S. partners in Europe, and building partner capacity around the globe. The $668 billion total budget also would include about $28 billion for defense-related spending by the Energy and Justice departments. | 
