Lawmakers Warn Pentagon Reconciliation Plan Could Undermine Oversight

During a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Thursday, lawmakers from both parties questioned the Pentagon’s plan to fund major defense programs through a reconciliation request, warning it could sidestep the traditional appropriations process and limit congressional oversight.

The Department of Defense’s (DOD) fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget proposal hinges on a major gamble: that Congress will approve $350 billion in mandatory spending through reconciliation to help reach a $1.45 trillion defense topline.

Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the Department of War.

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., the subcommittee chair, specifically told Air Force and Space Force officials that he found it concerning that several top-priority programs are included in the mandatory funding request.

“Mandatory funding bypasses the annual appropriations process, which is how Congress exercises its oversight responsibility,” Calvert said, urging officials to move the programs into the discretionary budget.

For the Department of the Air Force, those programs include $17.5 billion for the Golden Dome missile defense shield, $7.7 billion for an airborne moving target indicator, $4.6 billion for munitions procurement, and $3.9 billion for a space data network.

“If these programs are as critical as the budget request suggests, and I believe they are, then they deserve the full scrutiny and sustained attention that we in the appropriations process provide,” Calvert said.

He also questioned what risks the current funding strategy could pose if Congress does not pass a reconciliation bill.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the department considers all requested funding essential to its mission, regardless of the funding mechanism.

“Any reduction on either side, mandatory or discretionary, will have significant consequences,” Meink said.

Meink urged Congress to approve the request as proposed, but did not say whether the department has a backup plan if the reconciliation request is denied. Defense officials have previously said the department is prepared to revise its approach if needed.

Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., voiced his concerns about the “lack of a contingency plan” if Congress does not approve the mandatory funding and questioned whether the approach is a one-year anomaly or part of a broader shift in defense budgeting that could reduce congressional oversight.

Meink said he could not speak to the future budgeting strategy.

Reconciliation bills are budget measures that allow Congress to fast-track certain spending, revenue, and debt-limit changes with a simple majority vote in the Senate, bypassing the filibuster. Republican lawmakers used this tool in the FY 2026 budget cycle to approve roughly $150 billion in defense-related funding.

However, that funding was intended to be spread over a 10-year period, but the DOD instead used the full amount within a single fiscal year, drawing criticism from lawmakers at the time.

Morelle warned that the DOD’s strategy raises issues around transparency and Congress’s role in fiscal oversight.

“This is a dangerous precedent,” Morelle said. “Article One responsibilities and the role that is vested in this committee to do oversight is really important, not only for congressional integrity and responsibilities, but for the American people.”