McConnell Remarks at SAC-D FY27 Air Force Budget Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing, "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Air Force":

Secretary Meink, General Wilsbach, General Saltzman - welcome.

I need to begin by pointing out that this will be our last hearing with General Saltzman, who will be retiring later this summer. I'm pleased to hear you'll be returning to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Salty, I want to thank you for your decades of service to our nation. I know we'll both have more time for UK - and UofL - basketball this coming season.

Gentlemen, I also need to acknowledge at the outset the devotion and sacrifice of American servicemembers.

U.S. airmen have been at the absolute razor's edge of recent operations in the Gulf, degrading Iran's offensive capabilities, evading the enemy on the ground, bringing downed comrades home, sustaining the joint force, and, in the case of a KC-135 crew over Iraq, making the ultimate sacrifice. I know I speak for the entire subcommittee in recognizing these fallen airmen, their comrades, and their families.

We're here today to review the Administration's FY27 budget request for the Department of the Air Force.

As I've observed in discussions with the other services, major increases to topline defense spending represent a tremendous opportunity to improve readiness and lethality across the force, and industrial capacity across the nation.

At the same time, the structure of the request for the Department of Defense would put consistent funding for key priorities at unnecessary risk.

Core pieces of the President's defense agenda, like multi-year procurement contracts for critical munitions, half of the F-35 program, Golden Dome, and drone dominance initiatives, are requested as one-off reconciliation spending, not full-year base appropriations.

This is especially mystifying for multiyear procurement contracts. I mean, the need to budget for them annually is right there in the name.

But it's more than just a contradiction in terms. It's also a recipe for major disruptions in the very possible event that party-line reconciliation fails. The Administration's choice to structure an ambitious $1.5 trillion dollar request in this way is yet another missed opportunity to put key aspects of our common defense on a stronger and more enduring fiscal footing.

Specific to the Air Force and the Space Force, a few observations:

First, I'm encouraged to see the Department acknowledge the need for the E-7 wedgetail airborne battle management aircraft. This platform meets a current-day need with a current-day capability. And the Department's alignment with this priority is a welcome investment in resiliency as we continue to build out space-based capabilities that will serve our joint force in the future.

I'm also glad to see the FY27 request begin to address the issue of operational readiness rates by investing more in F-35 spares. But the Department will continue to step on its own tail if it insists in housing procurement of new airframes primarily in one-off reconciliation spending.

If fielding the F-35 remains an operational necessity both for the United States and for key allies, there's really no excuse for not placing it squarely in full-year appropriations.

General Saltzman, I'm glad that this request represents a massive opportunity for Space Force procurement of key systems. But I worry whether industrial capacity will be able to meet a sudden surge in spending, pending a clearer picture of how the Department plans to sustain steadily increasing investment over the out-years. So I'll want to hear from you on how the Space Force is thinking about longer-term scaling.

Finally, at a fundamental level, I'm curious to hear from each of you about how the Department of the Air Force is applying the lessons of the modern battlefield. I'm concerned that the Pentagon as a whole is not learning quickly enough from the battlefields in Ukraine and the Gulf. And failure to learn and adapt, particularly when it comes to force protection and counter-drone technology, has real and measurable costs.

Speaking of which, there's clearly a need for supplemental funds to cover critical operational costs incurred in the Gulf, to recapture readiness, and to make serious down payments against the munitions shortfalls that long predate operations against Iran.

I would encourage the Administration to create such an opportunity, and would hope each of our colleagues would seize it.

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