Calvert Remarks During Floor Consideration of H.R. 8774, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to offer H.R. 8774, the 2025 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. I want to start by thanking Chairman Cole for his leadership in this process. I also thank the Defense subcommittee ranking member, Ms. McCollum, for her friendship and partnership. Finally, I thank the defense subcommittee staff for their tireless work on this year’s bill.
H.R. 8774 provides $833 billion for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. Consistent with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, this is 1% or $8.5 billion above the Fiscal Year 2024 enacted levels.
While $833 billion is the discretionary cap, the subcommittee has little discretion over 62% of the bill. This funding goes toward must-pay bills, including:
- Troop and civilian pay;
- Military benefits, medical care, and family services;
- Sustainment of current weapons systems;
- Fuel, utilities, IT, basic supplies; and
- Training and education.
This is to say nothing of necessary investments in major weapon systems to keep our military dominant in an intensifying threat environment. These factors are why I believe the current Defense top line too low for today’s needs.
Present and emerging threats mandate a robust U.S. military, which, as former Secretary of Defense James Mattis said, requires at least 3 to 5 percent real growth above inflation.
Finally, due to the decision to consolidate our defense industry over 30 years ago, America’s defense industrial base is brittle and unable to mobilize without significant investment.
While the defense allocation under the F-R-A is too low to meet America’s national security needs, it is the law of the land. This bill is written consistent with this law.
Today’s threats mandate a resolute United States – made credible with a capable, lethal, and ready military.
The Defense Appropriations Subcommittee scrutinized the Fiscal Year 2025 budget request line-by-line and conducted rigorous oversight. This resulted in $18 billion in cuts of requests that were unnecessary or unjustified. This bill provides no blank checks.
Instead, this bill builds on the priorities from fiscal year 2024. These priorities include:
- Prioritizing the fight against China,
- Promoting innovation and modernization,
- Supporting our servicemembers and their families,
- Optimizing the Pentagon’s civilian workforce,
Increasing the Department’s role in countering the flow of illicit fentanyl and synthetic opioids,
Supporting America’s close ally, Israel, and
Ensuring the Department focuses on its core mission of training and equipping our warfighters, not culture wars.
Time is not on our side. President Xi is planning to invade Taiwan potentially by 2027 - if not sooner. The only way to prevent Chinese aggression is by fielding and operating capabilities that demonstrate American military advantages.
To this end, the bill increases investments in 5th and 6th generation aircraft and procures deliverable capabilities, including several INDOPACOM unfunded priorities. It prohibits the divestment of certain naval and air assets that are still combat-credible.
And it provides $200 million for Taiwan security cooperation programs, while prioritizing defense articles and services to the threatened island.
The bill also continues investments in the reawakening and acceleration of American defense innovation.
Our defense industrial base is fragile, and competition is stifled. Almost every major defense acquisition program is plagued by persistent inflation, an aging workforce, costly infrastructure, weak supply chains, overly optimistic schedules, unrealistic budgets, and, ultimately, overpromised results.
We can trace this back to then-Secretary of Defense Aspin’s defense-contractor version of the Last Supper in 1993 when the defense industrial base consolidated from two dozen defense prime contractors to the five we have today.
The consequences of this decision mandate action, which must be achieved through an innovation intervention.
America’s legacy of innovation and entrepreneurs gives us an asymmetric advantage our competitors could never replicate.
This bill seeks to tap into this opportunity with over $1.3 billion for the Defense Innovation Unit and related innovation efforts, including $400 million for the highly successful APFIT program.
Modern and innovative practices are needed in more than just our defense capabilities – the Pentagon’s workforce and business practices also need to enter the 21st century. This bill cuts $916 million in unjustified civilian workforce requests, and funds more efficient ways of doing business.
Recognizing the national security threat posed by China’s supply of fentanyl base chemicals to Mexican drug cartels, this bill maintains high levels of funding for DOD’s drug interdiction and counterdrug activities with $1.14 billion.
This includes an increase for the National Guard Counterdrug program and the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, empowering states to take a more active role in the defense of their communities from our number one foreign adversary.
The bill also transfers Mexico from NORTHCOM to SOUTHCOM for improved coordination and prioritization.
As I mentioned at the outset, this bill focuses the Department on its warfighting mission.
The bill includes multiple general provisions from the House’s fiscal year 2024 bill that pivot the Pentagon away from divisive partisan policies, and towards military readiness.
Finally, underpinning all of these priorities funded in the bill is the imperative to support our servicemembers and their families.
The bill includes a 4.5% pay raise for all military personnel, plus $2.5 billion towards an additional 15% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers. This will have a positive effect on recruitment and retention, and will improve the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families serving with them.
I am proud of this year’s defense appropriations bill, which adheres to fiscal constraints while providing a strong military to defend America, our allies, and partners.
This bill procures where we can, trains where we must, and invests in capabilities that will make our adversaries wake up every day and say, “today is not the day to provoke the United States of America.”
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back.
