Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair, our ranking member, and the distinguished ranking member of the full committee. It is good to be here on this late evening to do important business for the American people.

I rise in strong support today of H.R. 4016, the Defense appropriations bill before us, not just as a matter of policy, but as a matter of preparedness.

Together, we can ensure that our men and women in uniform and their families have what they need when they need it.

Right now, our small-caliber ammunition stockpiles are not where they need to be. This is unacceptable. This bill makes critical investments to fix that, Mr. Chair. It ensures we are getting the necessary rounds back into the magazines of our servicemembers, whether they are training at home or deployed in harm's way.

Let's be clear: Asking our troops to be ready to fight tonight without basic tools to complete their mission is a risk that we are not willing to take. This bill prevents that from happening.

However, it is not just about restocking. We are also rebuilding; rebuilding our industrial supply base so that we are not relying on adversaries or unstable foreign markets for the things that make our military work.

This means we must continue building batteries for our most complex weapons systems right here in the good old United States of America. We must push forward with the most important technological edge we have in modern warfare, including the B-21 Raider.

The B-21 is not just another aircraft. It is the future of our long- range strike capabilities, a sixth-generation stealth bomber that will reaffirm American air dominance and serve as a powerful deterrent to rogue regimes and near-peer adversaries alike.

The threats we face today, from the Pacific to the Middle East, are not theoretical. They are real. Our adversaries are evolving, and they are not waiting for us to catch up.

This bill helps us stay ahead. It ensures that the American people and the American military remain the arsenal of democracy. Above all, it supports the men and women who wear our country's uniform and stand ready to defend this Nation each and every day.

Let's take a quick look at this next poster. It will show exactly what the Democrats would be voting against for the FY26 Defense Appropriations Act.

They would be voting against a pay raise for American troops and border security investments to counter drug trafficking.

They would be voting against investments for critical ships and aircraft, against modernization of America's nuclear triad, against missile warning systems and technology, and against next-generation U.S. weapons systems.

They would be voting against increased stability for servicemembers and their families, against training and equipment for an agile, capable force, against supporting the supply chain production, against deterring the Chinese Communist Party and foreign adversaries, and voting to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortion travel.

Mr. Chair, for their sake, for our sake, for the sake of our great Nation, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill, to deliver on our America First agenda with President Trump and to stand firm in our commitment to peace through strength.

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