Rep. Calvert Offers Amendment Investing in Hypersonic Missile Capability

Statement

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) offered an amendment during the House Appropriations Committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Appropriations bill to restore funding to one of the Air Force's two hypersonic missile programs, which was zeroed out in the proposed bill. The amendment was defeated on a party-line vote.

"It's no secret that the hypersonic weapons capabilities developed by China and Russia pose a serious threat to America's national security," said Rep. Calvert. "I offered an amendment to restore funding for the Air Force's Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), which is one of the Air Force's two primary hypersonic weapon programs. I believe it's a mistake to eliminate a program and planned testing for a critical national security need just as it is beginning to show promise. We must continue to invest in an air launch capability to cover threat gaps we are already seeing.

My amendment would have allowed us to make that investment by offsetting the dollars from climate change-related programs which total $2.5 billion in the bill. House Democrats continue to jeopardize our national security by placing a greater emphasis on pursuing progressive goals than actual warfighting capability."

The FY2023 Defense Appropriations bill includes a $90 million cut that effectively cancels the ARRW program. The amendment offered today by Rep. Calvert would have restored the funding for ARRW and offset the costs through reductions to the $2.5 billion in climate change initiatives in the bill.

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