Moderate Democrats rebuke defense budget cuts – By Joe Gould (Defense News) / June 28 2021
WASHINGTON ― In the upcoming budget debate, a group of moderate Democrats are trying to set a floor for 2022 defense spending before progressive Democrats try to push it lower.
Leaders of the House’s Blue Dog Coalition say they oppose calls to fund any less than the requested $753 billion national defense budget for fiscal 2022—which included $715 billion for the Pentagon. The stance adds fuel to an already complicated budget debate, where Democrats are split and key Republicans are pushing for a boost.
“We believe this is a strong and sensible funding request, and we oppose calls to authorize or appropriate funding below this level,” the six lawmakers said in a June 24 letter to leaders of the House Armed Services Committee and House Appropriations Committee.
The lawmakers on the letter are Reps. Mikie Sherrill, of New Jersey; Tom O’Halleran, of Arizona; Stephanie Murphy, of Florida; Ed Case, of Hawaii; Abigail Spanberger, of Virginia, and Kurt Schrader, of Oregon.
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