Congresswoman Ramirez Statement on the Passage of the GOP Inflated Budget to the Pentagon

Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) released the following statement after voting NO on the 2024-2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would authorize $874.2 billion for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD):

“Today’s GOP-led House passed a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that hands out $874.2 billion for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and for-profit defense contractors. This unmeasured expense comes weeks after the same party held our economy and the American people hostage just to gut essential safety net programs for everyday families through a debt ceiling deal. Time and time again, the party of “fiscal responsibility” has asked to count every penny and dime of domestic funding providing food, shelter, education, and life-saving services to everyday American families and communities. But they are willing to look the other way and expand the funding of an industry that fails every audit with no repercussions. As we’ve seen with the Republican plan, the real consequences of this legislation will be carried by working families, leaving veterans and servicemembers without the support they need, weakening our environmental protections, debilitating our multicultural democracy, and imposing more pain on our communities.

"So, I find it highly hypocritical that a group that uses their faith and religious values to justify their policy would support legislation like this. As a person of faith, the values that keep me rooted and guide me are the teachings of caring for my neighbors, advocating for peace and diplomacy, and upholding our shared humanity. That is why today, I voted NO on an agenda of hate, prejudice, segregation, and never-ending war.”