Ranking Member DeLauro Opening Remarks at the Full Committee Markup of the 2027 Defense Funding Bill
WASHINGTON – House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) delivered the following remarks during the full committee markup of the fiscal year 2027 Defense funding bill:
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And Chairman Calvert, Ranking Member McCollum. Thank you, thank you for your work together in bringing forward this bill today.
I also want to say a thank you at the outset to the subcommittee staff for their work on this bill. Jennifer Chartrand, Jason Gray, and Ed Etzkorn on the minority side, and Adam Sullivan and his talented team on the majority side. Thank you for all your hard work on this bill.
As this is our last full committee markup – our twelfth and final bill – I want to reiterate my gratitude for the entire Committee staff, on both sides of the aisle, for all of their work throughout this process – your dedication and your commitment. With special thanks to Susan Ross and Matt Diller who have assisted Chairman Cole to smoothly run the markups. Thank you one and all for your exceptional work.
Now, on to the measure before us today.
I rise in opposition to the bill under consideration. At a time when American families are begging for relief from high prices, the Trump administration is deaf to their pleas. Instead of providing relief, they are cutting domestic programs that support families who are struggling with the cost of living.
Across the board, Republicans are cutting nearly $13 billion from non-defense programs that support the working class, middle class, and vulnerable Americans. They are cutting investments in education, job training, housing assistance, energy development, transportation, rural aid, and more.
At the same time they are cutting these programs, they are proposing the most expensive military budget in American history. More than $1 trillion for the Pentagon. A $234 billion increase, and that does not even account for President Trump’s so-called Golden Fleet, replenishing munitions, or any of the other additional costs associated with President Trump’s war of choice in Iran; a war that has taken 13 American servicemembers’ lives, left the Iranian regime in-place and emboldened, cost at least tens of billions of dollars, and for which we still have no detailed accounting.
It is the most expensive military budget in history, and the administration still may come back to Congress for even more funding, through a supplemental request or through reconciliation. It is a $1.1 trillion floor, but who knows how high the ceiling will be.
Despite the astronomical increase in funding proposed in this bill, it does not include funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. How can it be that even with the largest military budget in the world, we do not have enough resources to support a key ally as they defend their country against Russian aggression? Our partners and our allies deserve better than broken promises.
This bill also continues the deployment of National Guard troops to the District of Columbia for the so-called “beautification” of D.C. This week they are guarding the reflecting pool – they have been asked to protect it against algae growth. This is a gross misuse of military resources, and a disservice to Guard soldiers whose time and energy should be spent training, supporting legitimate operations, or responding to emergencies where their skills are sorely needed.
They are committed and dedicated men and women. And we are having them defend, here, the reflecting pool. Think about how we are using our resources. Deploying Guard soldiers for this purpose not only is unfair, and quite frankly disrespectful, to them, but reduces our readiness, putting all of us at greater risk.
President Trump said we do not have money for childcare, Medicare, or Medicaid, because we are, quote, “fighting wars.” That was not a slip of the tongue, it was a statement of policy. The Trump administration is prioritizing foreign entanglements at the expense of domestic investments – regardless of the consequences or the cost.
That is exactly what the House Republicans have done. Our committee has not bothered to follow regular order and formally adopt a full slate of subcommittee allocations. We have only actually voted on six of the 12 allocations for our bills. Only now that all 12 bills have been released, can we see the full picture. House Republicans are following the President’s blueprint. Defense spending goes up by $234 billion, while domestic investments that support working families struggling with the affordability crisis are cut by nearly $13 billion.
The President’s wars of choice are pushing prices higher, but he has said that he does not think about Americans’ financial situation at all. Recently he said that he, quote, “loves inflation;” even as costs rise faster than wages.
Last week, the President signed a 60-day ceasefire extension in which Iran agrees to re-open the Strait of Hormuz which, of course, was open before the war began. It opens the door to Iran potentially extracting extraordinary sums of money through various fees in the future. They have already gotten immediate sanctions relief with regard to their oil exports. And we have committed to providing $300 billion for them in the form of a reconstruction fund.
We spent tens of billions of dollars dropping bombs on Iran, and now we are promising to find them $300 billion to rebuild what we just blew up.
The hardline, repressive Iranian regime is still in power. The Iranian people are not free. Their ballistic missile program is intact. Their nuclear ambitions are unchanged. Their proxies are emboldened. Their sanctions are being lifted. Their oil revenues are increasing. Their leverage is greater than it has ever been before. And we have nothing to show for it. Why did we go to war?
Further, while all eyes and attention are on the conflict with Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz – very little attention is being given to Gaza. Only two points of the 20-point plan that was fashioned between the United States and Israel and Gaza, only two points have been implemented. Settler violence in the West Bank is increasing as more territory is annexed by Israel. The Israeli military continues to push further into Lebanon as airstrikes batter Beirut. And the humanitarian conditions in Gaza worsen by the day. It is unconscionable.
CENTCOM forces are currently working with their counterparts in the Civil-Military Coordination Center – which I was able to visit during a recent trip to the region – it is my hope that they continue their activities toward a real peace. It was an impressive operation, which I am sorry has been curtailed at the moment.
To be clear, I support a strong national defense. I support the courageous men and women who serve our country in uniform. And I understand the need to make investments accordingly. But we need not cut non-defense programs that lower costs and help families afford basic necessities like groceries, housing, childcare and health care. We ought to work together to provide relief for American families. That is what I intend to do as we continue our work on this committee.
In the meantime, I oppose the bill under consideration as it abandons a key U.S. ally in their fight for independence from Russian aggression, emboldens this reckless administration as they continue to pursue wars of choice around the world, and it continues the misuse of military resources for President Trump’s vanity projects, and does nothing to bring down the cost of living.
Thank you, and I yield back.
A summary of the bill is here. A fact sheet is here. The text of the bill is here.
Watch the full committee markup here.
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