To: Members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense
From: National Taxpayers Union
Date: June 10, 2026
Subject: NTU’s Views on the June 11 Subcommittee Markup
I. Introduction and Key Taxpayer Considerations
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union, the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we write to express our alarm about our nation’s runaway defense spending. For too long, lawmakers of both parties have used national security exigencies to justify ever increasing largess to the Pentagon and its contractors, despite glaring evidence that our nation’s fiscal position is untenable. We urge lawmakers to safeguard taxpayer dollars as much as possible throughout the markup process.
II. NTU’s Views on the FY27 Defense Appropriations Bill
NTU supports the goal of ensuring the U.S. military remains the most effective fighting force in the world, and we commend the Committee’s efforts to revitalize and expand our national defense industrial base. However, we also acknowledge that our nation’s bloated approach to military spending is unsustainable and woefully misaligned with both budgetary and national security realities. At $1.072 trillion, this is the largest funding allocation ever proposed for a defense appropriations bill. This represents nearly a 30% increase compared to last year’s enacted levels, which came in at $838.7 billion.
Yet, beyond the eye-watering topline number, NTU is also concerned by provisions in this legislation that could burden taxpayers, particularly the authorization of multiyear procurement for certain munitions. Any national security strategy worth its salt requires a long-term time horizon that spans years, if not decades. However, when it comes to actually paying for new weapons, Congress usually approves purchases on an annual basis, which allows for consistent and regular oversight. Provisions in this legislation that enable multiyear procurement contracts effectively guarantee years of elevated spending that future Congresses cannot easily cut.
III. Contact Information
Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to Alexander Ciccone at aciccone@ntu.org.