King Calls Partisan Defense Budget “Abdication of the Congress's Appropriations Responsibility”

May 21, 2026
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) raised concerns over the “dangerous precedent” being set by a partisan Department of Defense (DoD) budget that suggests bypassing the normal appropriations process. King argued that defense budgets should not circumvent congressional authority, since the defense budget request has been split into a bipartisan bill and a separate one that will be passed with only Republican engagement. Senator King then pressed the Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink on maintenance and military readiness.
This year’s defense budget, as submitted by the Administration, is divided into two distinct segments, one, a conventional budget submission requiring analysis and approval by the Armed Services and Appropriations Committees and a second section—representing more than 25% of the total budget—to be passed in an entirely partisan reconciliation bill, thus bypassing the usual committee consideration and oversight.
Senator King began , “There is no such thing as mandatory spending except in areas where there is a legal obligation to expend the money. Mandatory spending is a term of art in government budgeting, and it refers to principally Social Security and Medicare. There's nothing mandatory about part of your budget. It is being put in this budget as a part of reconciliation, which is a bypassing of the normal administration of appropriations and the Congress. It's an abdication of the Congress's appropriations responsibility, but it is also a usurpation of that.”
Later in the hearing, King discussed the concept of “Right to Repair”, securing an agreement that the Air Force will invest in their ability to save time and money by allowing maintainers to make their own parts and repair equipment that would otherwise have to be sent back to the manufacturer.
“Mr. Secretary, one thing we have talked about frequently is the right to repair. There's been a lot of talk today about readiness. One way to improve readiness is to repair our aircraft -- I almost said on the fly-- on the ground without waiting for the manufacturer to send a part. In my view we should, A, buy the IP for any platform we buy and, B, we should have 3D printers in every hanger. I hope this is an area you will pursue with your procurement people. Because, as you know, readiness in the air force is an issue depending upon the airframe, 50%-60% readiness, sometimes higher sometimes lower. Do you agree with me that we really need to stress our ability to repair our own equipment and do so in a timely basis?” Senator King asked.
“Absolutely, Senator. As we look at the programs going forward, that's a big focus, to make sure we have that right. To some degree back to our discussion already, some of these programs, the decisions made were trying to save costs wherever possible. Those kind of short-term decisions did not prove to be cost-effective long-term. We are trying to reverse a lot of that now and going forward. I believe this is an area with proposals with respect to congressional language associated with access to data rights. I think all those things are necessary to make sure that going down the road we have that right to do that,” Secretary Meink confirmed.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King is recognized as an authoritative voice on national security and foreign policy issues. Over the past year, Senator King has been outspoken against the politicization of the Department of Defense. Senator King has also been a strong advocate for the use of 3D printing. He previously supported a $2.8 million congressionally-directed spending award to UMaine for 3D print wind turbine blades, as well as the use of the 3D printer to create two logistics vessels for the U.S. Department of Defense.
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