Democrats signal that further increases in defense funding could cost the GOP dearly

Prominent Democrats said Wednesday that any increases in defense spending beyond budget limits agreed to as part of a bipartisan agreement last year must also be met with parity for national programs.

Speaking to the press Wednesday, Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said “stronger investments” are needed in “the nation’s military and national security to meet the challenges we face today.” .

But she also pointed to the need for investment in areas such as “child care, health care, education, our environment, workers, critical research”, while also emphasizing “parity” in the annual process of government funding.

“For me, the word of the day, today – and every day until we pass our funding laws – will be parity,” she said. “By this I mean that when my Republican colleagues insist that, despite the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), we need to increase spending on national security, I will also insist that increased defense spending be accompanied by a similar increase for investments here at home.”

“Both are extremely important and I have faith that the Senate Appropriations Committee will again do its work and fund the nation’s needs on a strong, bipartisan basis,” she added.

His comments come as members on both sides of the aisle have signaled that more funding may be needed for defense programs beyond the one percent cap on growth agreed to as part of the FRA.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Wednesday he wants to see greater defense funding, saying, “The world is on fire and we are spending below inflation.”

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who heads the subcommittee that crafts the Defense Department’s annual funding, also told The Hill on Wednesday that he would also like to see increased funding for defense, while also that observes security threats.

“I would like that, but we’ll see,” he said.

Congress approved the FRA, an agreement negotiated between President Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), last year to temporarily suspend the debt limit and set budget limits on annual government spending.

The agreement provides for a one percent cap on defense and non-defense funding increases, subject to the annual government appropriations process for fiscal year 2025.

However, this bipartisan compromise was met with strong opposition for months from conservatives, who demanded stricter budget limits, citing the country’s rising debt. Many Republicans also balked at a handshake deal made alongside the legislative deal that allowed more funding for non-defense programs, which would see a cut below the caps as written in the law.

As conservative opposition to the deal grew last year, GOP appropriators wrote their funding proposals for fiscal year 2024 at numbers significantly below the agreed-upon limits.

The bipartisan funding bills for fiscal year 2024 that passed Congress earlier this year were more in line with the levels seen in the original budget cap agreement. But some conservatives have held out hope for further cuts in recent months as both chambers again accelerate the funding process for fiscal 2025, just months before the September deadline.

At the same time, Democrats appear to already be on the same page about the need for parity.

“There has to be parity,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters Wednesday when pressed about Murray’s comments.

“My hope is that we can agree on this because then we can move forward because, frankly, we weren’t able to move forward last year,” she added, “when the numbers were much lower, but I have to remain optimistic moving forward.”