Cornyn, Cloud Introduce Bill to Protect Army Depots from Financial Harms Caused by Cancelled Government Projects

Cornyn, Cloud Introduce Bill to Protect Army Depots from Financial Harms Caused by Cancelled Government Projects News Cornyn, Cloud Introduce Bill to Protect Army Depots from Financial Harms Caused by Cancelled Government Projects August 6, 2026 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Congressman Michael Cloud (TX-27) today introduced the Defense Expenditure Planning for Optimizing Throughput and Sustainment (DEPOTS) Act , which would help protect Army depots and their workforce from incurring burdensome financial loss as a result of cancelled government work: “Texas’ two extraordinary Organic Industrial Base sites, the Corpus Christi and Red River Army Depots, make immeasurable, ongoing contributions to our nation’s defense readiness, from remanufacturing and sustaining rotary-wing aircraft to remanufacturing and overhauling tactical wheeled vehicles,” said Sen. Cornyn. “Army depots are a critical part of revitalizing our defense industrial base, and we must provide budgetary flexibility so they are not hampered by financial losses from cancelled government work. I’m proud to introduce the DEPOTS Act, which would allow the Department of War to provide surpluses to depots whose labor rates have been negatively impacted by government-directed mission changes.” “The DEPOTS Act is a common sense fix for a real problem. Depots shouldn’t be left holding debt for Pentagon-initiated mission changes,” said Rep. Cloud. “Corpus Christi Army Depot does critical work keeping our service members’ aircraft safe and reliable, and this practical reform makes sure they can fulfill their duty to keep the Army flying.” Background : The DEPOTS Act aims to protect the workforce and labor rates of a depot or arsenal that incurs debt because of cancelled, planned government work. These financial losses are not the fault of the depot, and the legislation would help ensure these depots remain competitive and good stewards of American taxpayer dollars. This provision would provide the Department of War and the component services additional flexibility to use surpluses to write off internal debt affecting depots or arsenals. The legislation requires that all revolving fund cash outlays be recovered. It is included as Section 327 of the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act for FY27 (S. 4784). OIB sites provide critical capabilities for materiel and sustainment support for the U.S. military. These specialized installations maintain readiness of the most crucial platforms and serve as experts for modernization and repair of military equipment. These sites are also key employers of American talent. Corpus Christi and Red River Army Depots are together comprised of thousands of skilled artisans, engineers, and laborers that do critical work at the U.S. Army’s Rotary-Wing Center of Excellence and the U.S. Army’s Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for Tactical Wheeled Vehicles.