Congress Faces a Growing Blind Spot in the Pentagon's Expanding Budget

"In addition to the billions requested for the F-35 [fighter-bomber] enterprise, several of these programs I consider highest priority are being funded through the mandatory [reconciliation bill] request -- $17.5 billion for Golden Dome [anti-missile system], $7.7 billion for air moving-target indicator, $4.6 billion for munitions equipment, and $3.9 billion for space data network. Mandatory funding [via the reconciliation bill] bypasses the annual appropriations process, which is how Congress exercises its oversight responsibility."

"If these programs are as critical as the [fiscal 2027] budget request suggests, and I believe they are, then they deserve all the full scrutiny and sustained attention that we on the appropriations process provide."

"One is because the session was cut short after 53 minutes so members could take part in a House floor vote, but then the hearing was not resumed. When the hearing adjourned, only seven of the 13 subcommittee members present had their five minutes to ask questions, although they were at the end given an opportunity to submit questions in writing."

"Equally important, as Calvert pointed out above, the Trump administration is playing around with the normal defense budget process, based on what the House and Senate let them do last year when Congress passed an $839 billion fiscal 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill, but then added another $152 billion for defense in the"

Several defense programs are being funded through mandatory reconciliation requests rather than the annual appropriations process. Funding levels cited include $17.5 billion for Golden Dome, $7.7 billion for an air moving-target indicator, $4.6 billion for munitions equipment, and $3.9 billion for a space data network. Mandatory funding bypasses the annual appropriations process, which is described as the mechanism Congress uses to exercise oversight responsibility. If these programs are as critical as budget requests indicate, they should receive full scrutiny and sustained attention provided by the appropriations process. The hearing also ended early, limiting members’ opportunities to ask questions, with some members submitting questions in writing instead.

Read at The Cipher Brief