Chairman Ken Calvert

Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert

Rep. Calvert currently serves as the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The Subcommittee is responsible for funding the Department of Defense, including the Departments of Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Office of Secretary of Defense, and other Defense agencies. There are some exceptions, including Defense-related programs under the Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and the Army Corps of Engineers – Civil Works, which is under the Subcommittee on Energy and Water. The Subcommittee is also responsible for funding the Central Intelligence Agency, other intelligence community agencies and organizations, as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Chairman Calvert's Defense Appropriations Priorities

Priority #1 – Investing in America’s Military Superiority

Ensuring our military can defeat any potential adversary in a conflict is the best way to prevent hostilities and protect our nation.

American innovation is a key driver of our technological advantage when it comes to national security. With adversaries rapidly gaining ground and exploiting our slow, antiquated processes and risk-averse culture, we must prioritize defense programs and policies that will help maintain our competitive advantage.

Private sector innovation should be encouraged and, when successful, rewarded through an expedited transition process – facilitated by Congress, DoD and the defense sector – that gets game-changing capabilities into the hand of warfighters sooner.

We cannot expect to win fights in the future with weapons or equipment from the past. It’s essential to make persistent, predictable investments in the modernization of our most important weapons capabilities needed to counter our adversaries’ objectives.

As we have seen since our country’s founding, America is stronger when we are joined by international partners. We should continue to support programs that increase our interoperability and strengthen our alliances and partnerships through military cooperation.

Priority #2 – Shaping a More Efficient and Effective Defense Department

Efforts to modernize the DoD to meet the challenges of the future have to be prioritized by authorizers and appropriators in addition to Pentagon leadership. Every component of the department must be scrutinized, including personnel, processes and technology.

To address widely acknowledged procurement problems, we should devote resources and implement reforms to leverage advanced manufacturing and industrial capabilities to speed development of complex systems, save money, and maintain America’s advantage.

Like so many other sectors, our military and defense industrial base must have a workforce with the range of skills required in the near and long term. To meet that challenge we must develop and support programs that develop and sustain a talented workforce.

Priority #3 – Combatting International Actors Facilitating Drug Trafficking and Manufacturing

In 2020, more Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 died from fentanyl than from COVID-19, car accidents, cancer and suicide combined. The primary pipeline for this crisis begins in China and runs through Mexican drug cartels and across our border. While a whole-of-government approach is required, expanding the DoD’s role in countering narcotics and transnational criminal organizations is necessary.

Priority #4 – Caring for Our Servicemembers and their Families

America’s servicemembers are the foundation that makes our military the finest fighting force in the world. First and foremost, we need to protect the health of servicemembers and their families by addressing the unique health challenges they face, as well prioritizing the remediation and removal of hazardous materials in and around military installations.

CREATIVE DISRUPTORS IN THE DESERT

Chairman Calvert's remarks