McConnell at SAC-D Hearing on FY27 Budget Request for National Guard, Reserve Forces

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 National Guard and Reserves Forces”: With the FY27 appropriations process now underway, we’re here today to receive testimony on the posture of the National Guard Bureau and Reserve Components. I’d like to thank our witnesses: General Steven Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau; Lieutenant General Robert Harter, Chief of the Army Reserve; Rear Admiral Richard Lofgren, Acting Chief of Navy Reserve; Lieutenant General Loni Anderson, Commander of Marine Forces Reserve; And Lieutenant General John P. Healy, Chief of Air Force Reserve. This will be General Healy’s final posture hearing with the Subcommittee. So I want to thank him and his wife, Cathy, for decades of dedicated service to our nation and the lasting impact he’ll leave on the force. Gentlemen, welcome. We look forward to a candid discussion about the President’s Budget Request for FY 2027. The President’s intention to significantly increase overall investment in our national defense is welcome news. But details beneath that topline will determine whether the U.S. military can train, equip, deploy, and sustain a force capable of deterring serious threats. The Guard and Reserve are critical to homeland defense, security cooperation with allies and partners, and readiness to meet aggression with an overwhelming response. Ongoing operations in the Middle East offer a tragic reminder: a majority of the servicemembers killed in action since March 1st have been members of the Guard and Reserve. And I know the Subcommittee’s deepest sympathies are with their comrades and families. Of course, current conflicts also offer urgent lessons about the future of warfare. This is not just a responsibility of the active component. Secretary Driscoll observed last week that Ukraine has, quote, “fundamentally altered how humans engage in conflict” and that “we are learning a lot from them”. I think the Secretary’s observation is spot-on. But the value of these lessons will hinge on our ability to apply them. Our adversaries, for their part, are applying them. Iran has used lessons from Russia’s war and applied them against us in the Middle East. The U.S., on the other hand, has been slow to adapt. Why? In part because two Administrations in a row have limited the number of military advisors who could visit Ukraine. It is hard to learn if you do not observe. It’s also hard to deepen cooperation with Ukraine while cutting assistance. That’s why Republican majorities in Congress voted both to authorize and appropriate $400 million in assistance for FY26. And we expect that the Department will obligate and expend those funds in accordance with Congressional intent. The current strategic landscape suggests that the demand for highly-trained, well-equipped citizens in uniform like the ones currently operating in CENTCOM isn’t likely to decrease anytime soon. But the Guard and Reserve’s ability to perform these critical missions – to answer the call – depends on your access to modern capabilities and stable funding. So I’ll be curious to hear what lessons you’re deriving from current conflicts and what you’re doing to implement them across your commands. I was encouraged that the President’s budget request includes increased funding for Military Personnel, Operation and Maintenance, and most notably the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account. Congress has historically carried the water for this account, which helps to modernize the equipment available to the Guard and Reserve. But it is included in the base budget request for the first time. These are important signals of commitment. But you know better than anyone that it’ll be hard to meet multi-year modernization targets without stable funding. And on that front, I’ve repeatedly warned the Department and OMB that one-time shots of reconciliation dollars cannot stand in for consistent annual appropriations. We owe it to the men and women of our armed forces to reliably provide ample funding for the common defense year after year by strong, bipartisan margins.