Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, released a statement expressing opposition to cutting the defense budget. This statement came after House Democrats announced that they were cutting $16 billion from President Joe Biden’s budget request without saying where those cuts would come from. Rogers opposes any further weakening of defense appropriations.
Rogers said that the House Democrats’ FY 2022 budget number cuts $16 billion from Biden’s budget but does not detail where that cut would even come from.
“The House Democrats’ budget number cuts $16 billion from President Biden’s budget,” Rogers said in a statement. “President Biden’s woefully inadequate defense budget already constitutes a cut of over $4 billion in real dollars. As the House authorization and appropriations process moves forward, not one cent of that $16 billion cut can come from national defense accounts.”
The bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission has recommended an annual 3 to 5 percent increase above the rate of inflation for the combined defense budget to “meet the ends the NDS establishes”.
Rogers is the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee. HASC Republicans, led by Rogers, have stated that they believe an increase of 3 to 5 percent above inflation in the National Defense Function is a prudent amount that will enable the military to stay ahead of evolving threats from our adversaries.
“America’s national security hinges on our ability to defend against missile and rocket attacks from our adversaries,” said Congressman Mo Brooks, R-Alabama. “My House Armed Services Committee colleagues and I were extremely disappointed to see President Joe Biden’s $8.9 billion budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 fall short of the $10.5 billion enacted in Fiscal Year 2021. If we don’t robustly support missile defense programs, America will be less prepared to defend itself against attack and rogue nations might attempt to exploit missile defense weaknesses. America must never allow our adversaries to mistakenly believe they can defeat us. We must adequately fund our nation’s most effective and vital deterrents.”
Brooks is a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and also serves with Rogers on the House Armed Services Committee.
Rogers is serving in his tenth term representing Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District. Prior to his congressional service, Rogers served in the Alabama House of Representatives and Calhoun County Commission.
