With a war on, Congress MUST keep the military from going broke

Republicans and Democrats should always agree: America’s military must never be left unprepared — especially during war.Yet the Pentagon is now running out of cash, and Democrats recently blocked the bipartisan Defense appropriations bill.Parts of the Navy and Air Force’s budgets for Middle East operations could run out in just 10 days, per one report.

And Congress is about to adjourn for August recess.What are lawmakers waiting for?Lives are at stake, as is the fate of the Strait of Hormuz — and America’s ability to maintain credible deterrence down the road.Congress needs to get cash to the military pronto, and then pass an adequate defense bill for the coming fiscal year.President Donald Trump called for $200 billion in an immediate supplemental defense appropriation, as part of his $1.5 trillion ask for next year.Yet Democrats (and even some Republicans) object, so the current ask is for just $67 billion.Did funding foes hear the warnings from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen.Dan Caine at Tuesday’s Senate hearing?At risk: simply paying servicemen (with recruitments at record high levels), replacing weapons and munitions.

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Never miss a story.Beyond that is the need to get ahead of our adversaries after funding waned in the Biden years — including the tech upgrades necessary for modern warfare: Ultimately, as Hegseth put it, the goal is to create a military force “so capable it would be absurd for anyone to challenge it.”But the immediate ask is simply the minimum needed to support our current force to maintain deterrence.Every single member of Congress — Democrat or Republican — should recognize their moral responsibility to ensure US troops are well-resourced, particularly when they’re at war.We get it: Democr...