The Pentagon Is Making Production Promises Only Congress Can Keep

The Pentagon announced agreements with L3Harris and Lockheed Martin to expand weapons production capacity for components of two missile interceptors over the next seven years.

Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, called the deals “a decisive win for the Warfighter, underscoring our commitment to sending clear demand signals to the entire supply chain."

The agreements are the latest in a slew of Pentagon deals to increase production of air defense systems, which the United States has quickly expended in its war on Iran.

The Pentagon’s framework agreements may promise to increase weapons production, but they are not yet set in stone. Lawmakers have the ultimate authority to enable such an effort, which is largely motivated by the depletion of stockpiles in an unpopular, illegal war on Iran.

According to a poll released Tuesday, a majority of Americans across every age group oppose both Iran War spending and the White House’s trillion-dollar-plus military budget. Last week, the House of Representatives passed a resolution introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) directing the president to end the war on Iran.

Regardless, the administration continues to push for war funding, including to replenish stockpiles. However, the Pentagon’s framework agreements with L3Harris and Lockheed Martin are legally non-binding and dependent on congressional funding. Lawmakers provide the Pentagon with budget authority to enter into contracts through the defense spending bill, which Congress has yet to pass.

In June, the House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the defense spending bill, including a provision to authorize seven-year procurement contracts for certain weapon systems. These include both the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile (THAAD) interceptor systems, the focus of the Pentagon’s latest framework agreements with the arms industry.

But even if Congress retains this provision, the Pentagon’s framework agreements to boost weapons production likely require lawmakers to approve additional military spending outside of regular appropriations.

The majority of the president’s weapons procurement budget relies on lawmakers passing a spending bill through the budget reconciliation process. Such is the case for both the PAC-3 MSE and THAAD systems. The White House requested $11.4 billion in procurement funding for t...