A number of organizations called for Congressional leaders in the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to reject the Senate’s proposed increase in Pentagon spending.
In a letter to leaders in both houses of Congress, the 10 national organizations across the policy spectrum said the Senate’s proposal increases Pentagon spending by $32 billion over the President’s request. The organizations also call for the retention of provisions in both bills to strengthen oversight and accountability in Pentagon spending. The letter urges Congress to reject topline increases in H.R. 383 – Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, and S. 2296 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.
The letter said the increases in the Pentagon budget since 2000 are already more than the Pentagon needs to defend the nation. The letter is signed by representatives from Demand Progress, National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, National Taxpayers Union, Peace Action, Project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, R Street Institute, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Veterans for Peace.
“Our organizations differ on the appropriate size and scope of the federal government, but we all agree that the Pentagon budget is larger than it needs to be to defend the nation,” the letter said. “Authorizing a $32 billion hike on top of the more than 13 percent increase included in the budget request is fiscally ill-advised and strategically counterproductive. Before this year’s increases, the Pentagon budget had already grown by nearly 50 percent adjusted for inflation since the turn of the 21st Century. Effectively meeting legitimate national security needs requires strategic prioritization and cuts to wasteful or unnecessary programs, not unrestrained spending that invites waste, fraud, and contract bloat.”
The letter writers said their policies may differ, but their thoughts on the Senate’s proposed budget were the same.
“This letter reflects a broad policy consensus that throwing money at the national security challenges we face is not a solution unto itself,” Steve Ellis, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said in a statement. “Smart national security requires smart, disciplined, and strategic spending. Piling $32 billion on top of the 13 percent increase requested in the budget isn’t any of those things. Beyond basic fiscal discipline, simple reforms like giving servicemembers the tools to repair their own equipment and strengthening oversight when programs go over budget are just common sense.”