Pocan Rejects Trillion Dollar Defense Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02), co-chair and co-founder of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, released the following statement after voting against House passage of the $892.6 billion FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill's topline does not reflect the additional $150 billion added to the Pentagon's budget through the Big Ugly Law this past July, pushing total military spending over $1 trillion for the first time. Rep. Pocan has never voted in favor of an NDAA since being elected to Congress in 2012.

"Congress continues to prioritize lining the pockets of defense contractors while millions of Americans struggle with the cost of housing, healthcare, childcare, groceries, and other basic needs. The Pentagon remains the only federal agency that has never passed an audit. Yet Congress keeps giving more and more taxpayer dollars every year to an agency that literally cannot account for where that money is going. If the Department of Education or Housing and Urban Development failed even one audit, Republican lawmakers would be calling for heads to roll. But when it comes to the Pentagon budget, accountability is nonexistent.

"Until Congress puts people over the Pentagon, I will continue to oppose these bloated, unaccountable defense bills."