Pentagon And Military-Related Spending In Congressional Bill HR1
It is unusual for reconciliation bills, such as H.R. 1, to include substantial funding for the Department of Defense or other military-related programs in other departments. However, H.R. 1 breaks from precedent by allocating $156 billion to “national defense.” This is problematic for four main reasons: (1) It benefits weapons-makers and contractors more than service members; (2) It lacks details on specific spending categories, effectively making it a slush fund; (3) It incentivizes future lawmakers to skirt the regular budget process, which is more deliberative and transparent than the reconciliation process; and (4) It increases Pentagon and military-related spending by over 13 percent from FY25, pushing “national defense” spending beyond the $1 trillion mark.