June typically marks the unofficial start of “appropriations season,” normally a multi-month effort by the House and Senate to pass bills that will fund government agencies for the next Fiscal Year. This week, the House kicked off this process by passing its first spending bill for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. As is usually the case, this bill, H.R. 3944, continues Washington’s propensity for deficit spending and adds to our concerningly high federal debt.
The bill passed this week provides a total discretionary allocation of $152.1 billion, which is nearly $5 billion, or about 3%, above the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level. Combined with more than $300 billion in mandatory spending for healthcare, benefits, and other programs, the total cost of this bill exceeds $450 billion.
Many in Congress are rightfully concerned about our debt and have called for a return to pre-COVID spending levels. In 2020, the Continuing Appropriations Act signed into law by President Trump included $120.25 billion for Milcon-VA. If the current Congress gets its way and sends the proposed bill to the President’s desk, it would represent a 26% funding increase over levels set just five years ago, an increase that outpaces the cumulative inflation rate over the same period.
The U.S. government absolutely has a responsibility to pay for veterans’ service-related injuries and the benefits they are entitled to for serving in the armed forces. We can honor their service while remaining fiscally responsible. Rather than deficit-financed spending, Congress should implement offsets to the discretionary spending, or keep funding flat to avoid adding to the debt.
Worse yet, the bill includes 19 “community funded projects,” which is just a fancy term for earmarks. These total $450 million for things like child development centers, roads, and facility upgrades. While they only constitute a small percentage of overall federal spending, earmarks nonetheless have funded a significant number of wasteful projects and, for some lawmakers, proved to be an irresistible opportunity for corruption and influence peddling.
A $5 billion increase in spending is peanuts compared to the $1.1 trillion deficit our government is running, but it is emblematic of the larger problem. In Washington, spending only increases over time. The result is years of billions of dollars added up that will need to be paid back with interest, which is how we’ve reached the situation our country is in today.
Persistent higher spending levels will lead to extremely tough choices when the bill eventually comes due. This appropriations bill is the first of many coming down the pike, so let’s hope the forthcoming bills have stronger taxpayer protections compared to H.R. 3944.