Rep. Rosa DeLauro Criticizes GOP for Abandoning Allies and Harming Military Readiness

Opposition to the Defense Appropriations Bill

• 📌 Representative Rosa DeLauro expresses strong opposition to the Department of Defense fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill.
• ⚠️ The bill is criticized for abandoning allies, damaging military readiness, and promoting divisive policies that undermine morale.

Impact on Defense Industry and Workers

• 🚁 DeLauro highlights the importance of defense investments, citing American-made Blackhawk helicopters and Pratt & Whitney F-135 engines produced in her district.
• 💰 The rising cost of living is making it difficult for skilled defense workers to make ends meet, impacting their morale and the defense industrial base.

Cost of Living Crisis and National Security

• 📉 The bill fails to address the cost of living crisis, which directly affects military readiness and capabilities.
• 🚫 Safety net programs and basic services, crucial for future service members' well-being (e.g., school meals, Medicaid, housing), are attacked and defunded.

Abandoning Ukraine and Undermining Democracy

• 🇺🇦 House Republicans are accused of empowering Putin by failing to include $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, despite broad congressional support.
• 🗣️ The bill allows disinformation from America's enemies to proliferate by not allowing the Department of Defense to counter such threats.

Social Policies and Military Effectiveness

• ⚖️ The bill continues attacks on women's reproductive rights and minority protections.
• 🏳️‍🌈 It undermines the department's efforts to build a more inclusive, effective, and modern military.
• ✂️ Reckless cuts to vital civilian personnel and concessions to figures like Doge and Elon Musk weaken the department.
• 💸 Nearly eight billion dollars in undetermined cuts across various areas, including military healthcare and troops' pay, are directed, potentially harming readiness and quality of life for service members and their families.