A $1.5 trillion present for America on its 250th birthday

The White House has proposed the defense budget the nation needs. At $1.5 trillion, the request no longer forces false and expensive choices between capacity, capability and readiness.

But a budget request is just that — a request. To make the budget a reality, Congress must fix the annual federal budget dysfunction and bring its power of the purse into alignment with the defense of the nation.

Our elected leaders have one true primary job each year: to provide for the common defense. Yet increasingly futile divisions culminated over this last year with the longest full government shutdown in history. That’s not the type of historical record we want to set.

Positive steps have been taken. For example, new ground was broken with the 2025 budget reconciliation enacted last July, which included $150 billion in mandatory spending for defense. Defense authorizers stepped into the appropriations process and created a productive mess in the form of capability-focused funding that had a longer allowable period for spending. The 2027 budget request expects this process to be repeated, with another $350 billion mandatory budget infusion.

Congress has also tried to do the right thing. Pending legislation would make sure federal workers get paid for their labor; provide automatic stopgaps; and start applying penalties for inaction.

The Shutdown Fairness Act would provide paychecks to those who work during a shutdown, while the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act would automatically implement two-week funding stopgaps if Congress fails to pass its appropriations bills on time. It would also prohibit........

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