Top House Armed Services Dem blasts GOP colleagues for NDAA hold up

The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday ripped into his Republican colleagues for postponing a mark-up of the annual defense policy bill over the debate on the debt limit. 

Ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) accused the GOP of taking the debt ceiling increase “hostage,” which he said will jeopardize national security. 

“There is no way to make the substantial cuts to discretionary spending the Republican majority is vaguely proposing without doing great harm to the defense budget and the national security of this country,” Smith said in a statement. 

“Their decision to delay the markup of the National Defense Authorization Act is but the first of what will be many clear indications of these realities,” he added. 

House Armed Services Committee Republicans on Tuesday announced the panel was pushing back plans to mark up the fiscal 2024 NDAA, set to start this week, though they did not offer an explanation at the time. 

“Providing for our nation’s defense is the most important responsibility that Congress has been tasked with under the U.S. Constitution,” Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), said in a statement. “I look forward to beginning the FY24 NDAA process in the near future to fulfill this critical responsibility and strengthen our national security.” 

The House committee appears not to have set a new date to consider the bill, which subcommittees were meant to debate their portions of beginning on Thursday. The full committee was then slated to debate its version of the NDAA on May 23. The Senate Armed Services Committee has also delayed considering its version of the defense bill over the debt ceiling debate. The panel planned to take up the legislation later this month but will now consider it in mid-June. 

The issue centers around House Republican-passed legislation that would raise the debt ceiling and cap government funding at fiscal 2022 levels, all aimed at curbing spending and rolling back several Biden administration actions.  

But President Biden and White House officials have been adamant that Congress instead raise the debt ceiling without conditions. 

Biden and the top four congressional leaders, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), on Tuesday met to figure out a path forward to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts, but came away with no solution.  

Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen last week told lawmakers the U.S. could default by June 1.