Rep. Calvert: Democrats’ Defense Bill Underfunds our Military – Again

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42), the Ranking Republican on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement on the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Appropriations bill:

"There's nothing more important to securing America than funding our troops and providing them with the resources necessary to achieve their critical mission.

It's said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yet here we are again with Democrats moving forward with a defense appropriations bill that underfunds our military and fails to keep up with the rate of inflation. Just like last year, Republicans will insist on increasing defense funding and bringing down non-defense spending from the dramatic increases being proposed.

Democrats have also once again included a number of partisan policy riders that place a greater emphasis on achieving progressive goals rather than national security goals. Again, these partisan riders were stripped out of the bill last year and will need to be removed once again for us to reach a bipartisan agreement.

In the past year, Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as senior officials at the Defense Department, have highlighted how operating on a continuing resolution negatively impacts our military. I am incredibly disappointed that Democrats on the Committee have chosen a partisan approach that ensures we are headed toward a harmful continuing resolution instead of acting in a bipartisan manner for the benefit of our country.

There is a war raging in eastern Europe. There is a rising threat from China. There is no time to waste in strengthening America's national security."

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