Ranking Member McCollum Statement at the Subcommittee Markup of the 2025 Defense Funding Bill

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the subcommittee markup of the 2025 Defense funding bill:

– As Prepared for Delivery –

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I want to start by thanking two members of our Subcommittee on the minority side for whom this will be their last Subcommittee markup.

Mr. Ruppersburger and Mr. Kilmer, thank you both for your years of service in Congress, your contributions to this Subcommittee, and your commitment to our national security.

We will all miss you next Congress.

Turning to the bill before us.

I am pleased that the bill is funded approximately to the level in the President's request.

There are many important projects and programs that have been included in the bill and I want to thank Chairman Calvert and his staff for their work to incorporate priorities of the minority.

That is why it disappoints me that, just like last year, I cannot support this bill as written.

In a 1948 speech to the British House of Commons, Winston Churchill said "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".

Well, the Fiscal Year 2025 Department of Defense Appropriations bill presented to us today repeats the same mistakes as the FY 2024 House proposal.

Once again, this bill includes partisan social policy riders that were just rejected in the FY24 conference agreement.

And the inclusion of those riders in the process last year, led to several Continuing Resolutions that spanned over five months of this fiscal year.

Mr. Chairman, nearly every member of this subcommittee supported the FY24 conference agreement.

We all understand that we are in a new geopolitical era, where our nation faces grave threats – and they must be responded to swiftly.

But including riders that the majority knows will not become law, will only serve to repeat a process that very nearly ended in a full year Continuing Resolution.

Our national security cannot afford that.

These provisions, again, only creates division in our committee and the Congress which will impact our Armed Forces.

Once again, the bill limits the ability of Service personnel and their families to receive the reproductive healthcare they may need – and deserve.

There are provisions that disenfranchise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members rather than making our military a welcoming and inclusive place for all those who wish to serve our country.

Just as we are seeing an improvement of recruiting numbers in the Army, provisions like these will discourage recruitment from across America's diverse population, which is our strength as a nation.

Beyond divisive social policy, there are other provisions in this bill that I cannot support.

The bill continues to treat climate change as if it is not happening and is not a national security threat – which we know for a fact that it is.

It limits the ability for the Government to address mis/dis or mal information that could impact the military and their operations.

The bill includes a new provision that would ban funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

According to a March report from The World Food Program, nearly half the population of Gaza – over 1 million people - have completely exhausted their food supplies.

Palestinian civilians, many of them children, are struggling with catastrophic hunger and starvation.

The Hamas terrorist attacks of last October 7th were barbaric, and a tragedy.

But the suffering of the civilian population of Gaza will not make Israel safer – it is contributing to its insecurity.

This new provision will only make the situation worse.

Regarding the numbers in this bill.

I continue to be concerned about the cuts to civilian personnel – this year over $900 million in cuts.

The excessive loss of civilian personnel, and now even contractors will force military personnel to take on additional duties that detract from their attention to meeting mission needs.

The cuts to climate provisions will only continue to exacerbate the effects of extreme weather events impacting DoD installations to the tune of billions of dollars.

When we cut these programs - we will be paying for it on the back end - and that will be more expensive.

I will have more to say about these and other provisions during the full committee markup.

But it is very clear that all the divisive riders must come out, or this bill will not gain the bipartisan support necessary to become law – just like last year

Mr. Chairman, regrettably at this time, I will be unable to vote for passage of this bill.

And I cannot recommend to my colleagues that they support it.

But I do look forward to working with you in a bipartisan fashion over the coming months to get a bill that secures our national defense, and that all of us can support.

I yield back.

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