Ranking Member McCollum Remarks at United States Air Force and Space Force Oversight Hearing

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Ranking Member of the Defense Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the subcommittee's oversight hearing on the United States Air Force and Space Force:

Good afternoon.

I would also like to welcome Acting Secretary Ashworth, Generals Saltzman and Allvin.

It’s a distinguished panel that’s here, but, as the Chair pointed out, we look forward to having a conversation with the upcoming Secretary of the Air Force about the budget after confirmation. We know the Senate has spoken with him, but our Members too, would like to understand the priorities that he’s going to be putting forth.

This is our first hearing with the Administration following the release of the “skinny budget.” I’d like to take a few moments to acknowledge what the Administration is proposing. For Defense discretionary spending – President Trump is proposing an $893 billion request – essentially what President Biden would have proposed. This is effectively a freeze from the current fiscal year.

Any increases beyond that are assumed through the reconciliation process – which the authorizers control. No one will be shocked to learn that I do not think reconciliation is a responsible way to appropriate defense dollars. This Committee is Constitutionally responsible for the allocation of Department of Defense resources – and we should be controlling the process. 

Appropriating defense dollars through reconciliation undermines the authority and the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee. Now, Administrations of both parties have tried before to move money from the discretionary budget into mandatory spending. 

This is not a new trick – but this is not something normally done with Defense funding. That is because the reconciliation bill may not become law. If it does not, this Committee cannot guarantee that Department of Defense priorities will be backfilled through the Appropriations process.

Next, we know that programs for clean energy and climate resilience have been cut by this Administration. But as the leaders of the Air Force and Space Force – you cannot afford to take your eyes off the costs of climate change. Islands in the Pacific are not easy places to ship materials to or to build and maintain infrastructure in. It is difficult to protect them from the impacts of climate disruption, just look at the typhoon that hit Guam two years ago. $1.8 billion in additional funding was required to support the construction, planning, and design of facilities on Guam that were destroyed. 

The Continuing Resolution last December carried an additional $3.4 billion in repair costs for other catastrophic weather events. That’s over $5 billion in taxpayer money that we had to spend on the impacts of climate change within the Department of Defense. That is not waste, fraud, abuse – or any other kind of political spin. It’s necessary to prepare, protect, and replace the critical infrastructure that our warfighters depend on. Climate disruption will not just go away by a wish and a prayer. It is something that we have to plan for, deal with, and expect to happen into the future.

Turning to major programs – Air Force and Space Force have big bills due right now. The Sentinel program has ballooned to $141 billion, from an original estimate of $78 billion. The schedule is wildly off track from where it needs to be. The Next Generation Air Dominance program is planned to exceed $23 billion – and the price per plane is a serious consideration. The next Air Force One is behind schedule, and the Air Force has asked for more money to get it on track. Progress has been made on the parked F-35s – that’s good news, although it was bad news for us to read recently in the paper ‘the world’s top jet fighter is about to get more expensive’ because of the President’s tariffs. But there is more that needs to be done to get those planes delivered with the capabilities the Services need. And of course, there are new requirements for the Golden Dome – a missile defense program that has yet to be fully articulated by the Administration. These are problems that must be fixed through proper program management, planning, and resourcing. 

Finally, I want to comment on the Administration’s approach to personnel management. There is no question that there is a culture of fear developing across the federal government as this administration continues to demean and demoralize federal employees. I have spoken with far too many of them. People have been fired without cause. People have been asked to quit to find “higher productivity jobs in the private sector.” 

I wish the Department of Defense was immune to this – but it is not. I’ve had conversations with all the Services, especially Space Force, about how to build a first-class workforce. Secretary Hegseth’s goal is to remove 60 to 70 thousand civilians from across the Department of Defense. And now civilians are raising their hand – not to serve – but to leave. 

Who will be around to manage the contracting process DoD needs to get major programs back on track? We are already living with the impacts of what happens when civilians take a buyout and stop working on contracts. The contract isn’t signed, the mission doesn’t get done, the programs fall behind and it costs the taxpayer more. There will be real ramifications to our national security because of the Administration’s personnel policies.

We need to do something, sure, but let’s not take a chainsaw to it, let’s take a scalpel to what we need to do with our personnel policies.

Gentlemen, I want to thank you again for appearing today.

Thank you for your service, and for the service of the Airmen, Guardians, and civilians serving alongside you.

I yield back.

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