WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request, which cuts defense spending.

“This budget projects weakness to every corner of the globe. The Biden administration is not moving nearly quickly enough to prevent war with the Chinese Communist Party,” Senator Wicker said. “Sadly, President Biden’s weak request prioritizes more of the same failed policies. The national defense budget that our country needs is one with real, sustained growth, not quiet decline. Congress must write a serious national defense spending plan that takes care of our servicemembers and gives them the tools to deter our adversaries.”

For the fourth year in a row, President Biden has asked Congress to cut defense spending. Meanwhile, our adversaries are exploiting this moment – last week, the Chinese Communist Party announced another 7.2 percent increase in their defense budget, even as their economy falters.

Senator Wicker pointed to several proposals in the FY25 budget as objectionable, including:

• Significantly underfunding key enabling capabilities for our commander in the Pacific;
• Cutting a submarine after the Department of Defense’s own experts said the industrial base needed stability and real budget growth;
• Failing to maximize production rates of more than a dozen key munitions;
• Decreasing the purchase rate of tactical fighters;
• Slowing the development and purchase of crucial missile defense programs.