WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing examining the fiscal year 2025 budget request for military construction and family housing. Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) delivered the following statement as prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Chair Sinema. I am pleased to be here today with you as Ranking Member of this Subcommittee for our first MilCon hearing together and I look forward to working with you on the important issues within this portfolio. 

I would like to extend a welcome to our witnesses and recognize some upcoming retirements. Congratulations to Lieutenant General Banta for 37 years of service and Lieutenant General Vereen for 36 years of service. Thank you both for your dedication and service and I wish you well in your retirement.

This year’s budget request is $17.5 billion, a six percent decrease from the Fiscal Year 2024 enacted level of $18.7 billion. Although this represents a five percent increase over last year’s request, it continues the trend of having more expensive projects rather than a higher quantity of projects. Unfortunately, this is not a surprise as inflation continues to drive up costs and we continue to see larger and more complex projects in the budget.

MilCon continues to make up two percent of the total DoD budget even though we see a substantial backlog of requirements continues to increase. This year’s MilCon projects on the unfunded priority lists exceed $7 billion, the highest ever submitted. Adding to the backlog is disaster recovery in Guam, with early estimates as high as $50 billion. A bill like that cannot be absorbed within the traditional MilCon program and I’d like to hear from our witnesses how they intend to address disaster recovery within their planning and budgeting processes. 

The program is continuing to struggle from economic factors such as inflation and supply chain delays and, while it can take time for the MilCon process to respond to changing market conditions, the current environment is not new. While some cost fluctuation is expected, I hope this year’s request accounts for the inflation we are continuing to see.

Additionally, I’m concerned about scope and cost increases due to new statutory, regulatory and policy requirements. Although early in their implementation, it appears that both electrification and project labor agreements could have significant impacts on project costs. Early data suggests that projects can increase by 30 percent to 200 percent after accounting for these requirements. That is simply unaffordable and I am worried about the effect these policies will have on the projects in this request as well as future budget requests. I hope the Department approaches these matters objectively and takes the waiver process seriously. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and continuing the dialogue and work needed for a successful MilCon program. 

Chair Sinema, I yield back.