WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement after voting against passage of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 in the full committee.
“There’s no question that the Department of Defense (DoD) has requirements and that we as a country face threats and challenges from around the world. We clearly need to meet those threats and challenges, and we need to do so in ways that promote efficiency and effectiveness and allow for greater innovation.
“Gifting the Pentagon an additional $150 billion with little to no guard rails, on top of the nearly $900 billion defense budget already passed and without any budget plan from the President for Fiscal Year 2026 or even execution instructions for FY25, defies basic common sense. Paying for it with devastating cuts that can only come from critical programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and student loan and grant programs at the Department of Education is unacceptable. Giving that money to the Pentagon as it continues to churn with chaos inflicted by Secretary of Defense Hegseth and as a result of the President caring about only one thing—loyalty to himself—borders on negligence. That is why I voted against passage of today’s markup.
“There is clear bipartisan support for investing in defense spending that supports the quality of life of our service members and their families, readiness, innovation, and modernization. But the ideal process for considering these investments should be through the normal authorization and appropriations process. Today’s markup hearing was anything but that.
“Most of our Republican colleagues didn’t show up during consideration. None—except for the Chairman—spoke or engaged in the process in any meaningful way. They didn’t even try to defend what Trump and Hegseth are doing at the DoD and to our national security. Maybe that’s because they know it is not defensible. And worse, they seem completely uninterested in doing their jobs as Members of this committee—exercising oversight of the Department of Defense. They have outsourced that job to Elon Musk.”
“I remain committed to working across the aisle to pass a responsible budget that meets our defense needs. We can and must do this without forcing Americans to carry the burden of the costs, including exploding the deficit and debt, so that Trump can hand out $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy while doing nothing to lower costs for American families and have Hegseth wage his MAGA culture war at the DoD.”
“There’s no question that the Department of Defense (DoD) has requirements and that we as a country face threats and challenges from around the world. We clearly need to meet those threats and challenges, and we need to do so in ways that promote efficiency and effectiveness and allow for greater innovation.
“Gifting the Pentagon an additional $150 billion with little to no guard rails, on top of the nearly $900 billion defense budget already passed and without any budget plan from the President for Fiscal Year 2026 or even execution instructions for FY25, defies basic common sense. Paying for it with devastating cuts that can only come from critical programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and student loan and grant programs at the Department of Education is unacceptable. Giving that money to the Pentagon as it continues to churn with chaos inflicted by Secretary of Defense Hegseth and as a result of the President caring about only one thing—loyalty to himself—borders on negligence. That is why I voted against passage of today’s markup.
“There is clear bipartisan support for investing in defense spending that supports the quality of life of our service members and their families, readiness, innovation, and modernization. But the ideal process for considering these investments should be through the normal authorization and appropriations process. Today’s markup hearing was anything but that.
“Most of our Republican colleagues didn’t show up during consideration. None—except for the Chairman—spoke or engaged in the process in any meaningful way. They didn’t even try to defend what Trump and Hegseth are doing at the DoD and to our national security. Maybe that’s because they know it is not defensible. And worse, they seem completely uninterested in doing their jobs as Members of this committee—exercising oversight of the Department of Defense. They have outsourced that job to Elon Musk.”
“I remain committed to working across the aisle to pass a responsible budget that meets our defense needs. We can and must do this without forcing Americans to carry the burden of the costs, including exploding the deficit and debt, so that Trump can hand out $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy while doing nothing to lower costs for American families and have Hegseth wage his MAGA culture war at the DoD.”
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