: Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., a co-chair of the U.S.-China Working Group, during a panel discussion with Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on U.S.-China relations. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)
CORRECTION 6/19/23 at 10:10 am ET: This story was updated to clarify Larsen’s quote about Congress providing more money to the Pentagon.
PARIS AIRSHOW — As Congress weighs providing more funding for the Defense Department over the debt ceiling caps, including increased security assistance for Ukraine, members of a Congressional delegation to the Paris Airshow made it clear they expect to see the Pentagon’s topline rise.
Or, as one member put it bluntly, lawmakers likely “can’t help” giving the Pentagon more money in the coming months.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., practically treated a Ukraine supplemental spending bill as a foregone conclusion in a press briefing hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association at the Paris Airshow, where he went on to suggest lobbying by the Pentagon would result in greater funds beyond the spending cap set as part of the debt ceiling deal.
“Taking the Ukraine supplemental, it’s gonna be a Ukraine supplemental-plus, because Congress can’t help itself,” said Larsen, a former member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) who is now the ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“The Pentagon will show up and say, ‘well, we didn’t get this other stuff in the bill,’” he continued. “So maybe we should just use a supplemental for these other things that are unrelated to Ukraine. And Congress will probably rollover and do that for them, which you should take it as a criticism,” he added, pointing to budget bloat for the Overseas Contingency account.
Larsen was joined by the largest congressional delegation in history at the Paris Airshow, which will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow. And he was not alone in stating that supplemental spending might benefit the Pentagon. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala., a current HASC member, stated that considering high inflation, “the supplemental will be required, you’re looking at about a $40 billion shortfall for national security. And as Americans, we can’t let that happen.”
For his part, Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., who also sits on the HASC, called the prospect of additional military spending to support Ukraine and potentially other national security challenges a “strong possibility,” adding that “I think you’ll see a supplemental.”
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., further stated “I think the administration and Congress will react to both the direct aid to Ukraine, and the support for a stronger NATO during this time.”
Under the debt ceiling limit set last month, total national security funding — primarily DoD, but also nuclear weapons programs under the Department of Energy and a few other small pots of money, known collectively as 050 funding — was capped at $886 billion.
However, pro-defense lawmakers wasted no time after the deal was formulated in agitating for a special defense supplemental to increase the overall topline. The $886 billion figure represents a roughly 3 percent increase over the enacted topline for FY23, below the figure defense hawks feel is needed to keep up with inflation, let alone compete with China.
Senators separately expressed support for a supplemental spending bill as well.
“While I came here to make certain that Europe and others contributed more to the cause in Ukraine… I also discovered that a role that we’re playing is reassuring those Europeans that the United States is in Ukraine, or assisting Ukraine, for the long haul,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican who sits on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.
“I’d advocate for increased defense spending through a supplemental for Ukraine,” he added. “What happens in Ukraine is a huge consequence on what happens in the South Pacific. And China is our greatest adversary.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees, expressed strong backing for Ukraine, calling the United States’ involvement in the conflict “the only just war I’ve seen the United States participate in for the right reason.”
He also left open the possibility of spending more on national defense.
“I think the defense of our country is whatever it takes, we’re all going to be together,” he said. “Politically,” he added, “the defense of our country holds us together.”
