Should Congress appropriate $694.6 billion in discretionary spending to the Department of Defense during the 2021 fiscal year?
Bill Summary
This bill makes appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending on September 30th, 2021. Overall, this bill provides $694.6 billion in funding for the Department of Defense, covering areas such as military personnel, operations and maintenance, environmental restoration, research and development, equipment procurement, and health and quality-of-life programs. This bill also includes $1 million made available for renaming army installations and roads that are named after confederate leaders. In addition, this bill prohibits the use of these funds to "construct a wall, fence, border barriers, or border security infrastructure," and "nothing in this Act may be construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran."
Sponsor: Representative Peter J. Visclosky (Democrat, Indiana, District 1)
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Opponents say
• On the Senate bill: "Given all the unprecedented crisis the country faces, now is not the time to increase the Pentagon’s bloated $740 billion budget. At a time when 30 million Americans are in danger of losing their jobs, now is not the time to be spending more on national defense than we did during the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War." Source: Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont)
• On the Senate bill: "I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator @JimInhofe, who has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!)." Source: President Donald J. Trump (tweet about provisions made in a defense authorization bill)
• At the time this research was conducted, there were no official statements in opposition to H.R. 7617 specifically. This bill is largely a bipartisan effort, though it faces some opposition from President Trump for including funds to rename Army installations that have Confederate names.
• On the Senate bill: "I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator @JimInhofe, who has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!)." Source: President Donald J. Trump (tweet about provisions made in a defense authorization bill)
• At the time this research was conducted, there were no official statements in opposition to H.R. 7617 specifically. This bill is largely a bipartisan effort, though it faces some opposition from President Trump for including funds to rename Army installations that have Confederate names.
Proponents say
• "This legislation recognizes the complex challenges the members of our Armed Forces and intelligence community face every day throughout the world, and it aims to ensure that they are able to continue to meet these challenges and complete their missions to the best of their abilities with providing funding for the equipment they need to perform their missions effectively and as safely as possible. This bill also builds upon the efforts the Committee undertook last year regarding the morale and quality of life issues of those in uniform, their families, DoD civilians, and defense communities. Most notable, the bill provides funding increases for numerous programs directly related to servicemembers and again increases funding for military child care facilities." Source: Representative Pete Visclosky (Democrat, Indiana, District 1)
• "As we continue to process the devastating physical, psychological, and economic impact of this pandemic, we are reminded that safety and security are fragile. We know that we live in a dangerous world, but also recognize that the choices we make to stay safe need to be reasonable and responsible. This bill provides the Defense Department with the appropriate level of resources to address an evolving threat landscape and to ensure the security of our nation and our allies. It ensures that our service members are well-trained and equipped and that they are prepared for future military needs." Source: Representative Nita M. Lowey (Democrat, New York, District 17)
• "As we continue to process the devastating physical, psychological, and economic impact of this pandemic, we are reminded that safety and security are fragile. We know that we live in a dangerous world, but also recognize that the choices we make to stay safe need to be reasonable and responsible. This bill provides the Defense Department with the appropriate level of resources to address an evolving threat landscape and to ensure the security of our nation and our allies. It ensures that our service members are well-trained and equipped and that they are prepared for future military needs." Source: Representative Nita M. Lowey (Democrat, New York, District 17)
- House to Consider Seven-Bill Appropriations Minibus Next Week (House Committee on Appropriations Press Release)
- Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2021 Defense Funding Bill (House Committee on Appropriations Press Release)
- Chairwoman Lowey Statement at Full Committee Markup of FY 2021 Defense Funding Bill (Representative Lowey Press Release)
- Chairman Visclosky Statement at Full Committee Markup of FY 2021 Defense Funding Bill (Representative Visclosky Press Release)
- Progressive effort to cut defense fails twice in Congress (Defense News)
- Defense spending bill would make Pentagon return unspent money taken for border wall (The Hill)
