WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) released the following statement in response to the release of President Biden’s national security budget:
“President Biden’s defense budget fails to keep pace with inflation and represents a cut in terms of real dollars,” said Congressman Wittman. “The National Defense Strategy requires increasing the defense budget by 3-5% in real growth. It’s not hard to see why, with Communist China alone having increased their defense funding by 75% over the last decade. If the United States wishes to retain our global primacy, we must strengthen our military to deter threats. Should we fail to keep pace with our rivals, we risk giving them a window of opportunity to strike at long-desired targets, such as Taiwan or Ukraine. And should our rivals seize upon these opportunities, we risk those actions serving as the flashpoint that ignites a global conflict.
“Deterring such conflict must be one of our highest priorities. It’s disappointing that President Biden instead believes that securing peace and funding the National Defense Strategy should take a backseat to the trillions he has proposed spending on a wishlist of progressive priorities. Even a fraction of what President Biden has proposed spending on electric vehicles alone would be enough to meet the funding requirements of the National Defense Strategy. Worse still, this comes as China is now projected to outpace the United States in military procurement spending by the end of President Biden’s term.
“President Biden’s out-of-control spending on other priorities has not only crowded out defense funding but sent inflation skyrocketing, reducing the Department of Defense’s purchasing power. With reduced purchasing power, the cuts proposed by President Biden are all the more dangerous. As a result of reduced funding coupled with massive inflation, the Department of Defense may have to cut critically needed capabilities to fund basic requirements such as healthcare, supplies, and fuel. Should we find ourselves embroiled in a conflict with one of our rivals, those capabilities would be sorely missed by American warfighters.
“It’s disappointing that President Biden failed to propose a budget meeting the demands of the National Defense Strategy, asking our military leaders to somehow do more with less. It’s even more disappointing that this Administration would propose leaving American servicemen and women without the recommended resources they need to fight and win America’s wars, sustaining as few casualties as possible. And it’s hard to believe subsidies for electric vehicles are more worthy of funding than critical defense capabilities needed to secure not only peace but the United States’ status in global affairs.”
President Biden has proposed a $753 billion budget for national security, representing a multi-billion dollar cut in real dollars. The National Defense Strategy calls for a 3-5% increase in real growth to the Department of Defense budget to keep pace with global threats. Previously, Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, including Congressman Wittman, authored a letter urging President Biden to meet the goals of the National Defense Strategy.
