Waste of the Day: $34 Billion In Secretive Military Funding

Topline: Lawmakers added 1,090 congressional increases in back-door earmarks worth $34 billion into the Department of War’s budget for 2026, according to analysis from Taxpayers for Common Sense. 

Anonymous earmarks for military production within select Congressional districts

Like earmarks, congressional increases fund projects that were not requested by the president and often benefit congress members’ home districts. Unlike earmarks, they can be requested anonymously, and lawmakers do not have to certify that there are no conflicts of interest.

Key facts: The congressional increases include rockets, tanks, high-altitude surveillance balloons and much more. Many of them are classified, including one worth more than $1 billion.

The increases contribute to national defense, but critics take issue with the secrecy surrounding the process. Congress is not required to provide any justification for the spending or explain how it benefits taxpayers. Most of the increases are passed together in a single vote with little debate.

Whether or not a given proposal is motivated by genuine national security needs or by conflicts of interest is difficult to know. Absent these basic transparency and accountability measures, taxpayers and national security will continue to pay the price for Pentagon budget increases motivated by political expediency rather than genuine need. Taxpayers for Common Sense

Some lawmakers publicly took credit for the congressional increases they requested, which Taxpayers for Common Sense used to identify potential conflicts of interest. 

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) secured $220 million for tanks that will be manufactured by General Dynamics in her home state, a company whose PAC made multiple donations to her campaign in 2023 and 2024. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) got $9 million for marine research at Nova Southeastern University, whose lobbyists donated to her campaign in 2024.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) got $1.7 billion for projects in Kentucky, including research at the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky. McConnell attended both those universities as a student and had already requested $165 million in earmarks for them.

The highest cost yet for secret earmarks

The $34 billion total cost of the congressional increases is high compared to previous years. Open the Books and RCI previously tracked $22.7 billion in congressional increases to the military’s 2024 budget, and Taxpayers for Common Sense found $14.9 billion in the 2025 budget.

This funding is separate from the $200 billion supplemental funding that War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump are asking Congress to approve.

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Summary: The easiest way to improve America’s national security is by making Pentagon funding transparent and efficient, not by spending billions of dollars with little explanation.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.