Wasserman Schultz to Host Hearing with Military Officials on Military Readiness Impact of Trump’s National Emergency Declaration

(Washington D.C.) – Witnesses from the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force will testify for the first time on Wednesday, February 27 about the impact of President Trump’s national emergency declaration on military construction and readiness at a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies hearing chaired by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23). The hearing will take place at 2:00 PM est.

When President Trump announced he would circumvent Congress in order to access appropriated federal funding to build a wall on the Southern U.S. border, he said the projects military generals told him they would have to cut as a result “didn’t sound too important.” On February 27, members of Congress and the American public will hear directly from top military officials about how the national emergency declaration could impact our nation’s military readiness.

The following witnesses will testify before the Subcommittee:

The Honorable Phyllis L. Bayer, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Energy, Installations and Environment
The Honorable Alex A. Beehler, Assistant Secretary of the Army, Installations, Energy, and Environment
The Honorable John W. Henderson, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Installations, Environment and Energy

Rep. Wasserman Schultz has condemned the President’s use of a national emergency declaration and expressed grave concern about the potential in lost funding for critical military infrastructure, training, and support projects.

“The President’s reckless and authoritarian decision to raid funds Congress has already appropriated for specific military construction projects reflects a profound disrespect for the expertise and wellbeing of our nation’s armed forces,” said Wasserman Schultz. “The President has manufactured a crisis and taken unprecedented action in order to access federal dollars to build a totem to xenophobia and ego – and he is doing it at the expense of our military readiness. It is critical that the American public have the opportunity to hear directly from our military officials about the impact of potentially losing $3.6 billion appropriated for military construction funding.”