HASC Chair Confident FY27 Defense Budget On Track

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), expressed confidence this week that the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2027 budget request will be delivered to Congress without delay in March, despite mounting concerns over government funding and legislative gridlock. His comments, reported in the Breaking Defense article titled “HASC chair ‘optimistic’ FY27 budget request coming in March,” come as lawmakers navigate a highly compressed appropriations schedule and heightened partisanship on Capitol Hill.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a planned visit to the Indo-Pacific region with other committee members, Rogers said he had received assurances from defense officials that the Pentagon is on track to submit its FY27 request next month. Such a timeline would mark a return to normalcy after several years of disrupted budget rollouts, largely due to pandemic-related complications and ongoing political battles over spending priorities.

“I’m very optimistic that we’re going to get a budget on time,” Rogers stated, adding that he has been in close communication with officials at the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The chairman emphasized that delivering the request in March would help Congress maintain a regular order process, giving lawmakers sufficient time to evaluate and debate the defense budget’s priorities.

The Pentagon’s budget request is a critical document that outlines spending plans across services, strategies for modernization, and long-term assessments of defense capabilities in a shifting global landscape. Lawmakers and analysts have been especially attentive to forthcoming defense budgets given rising tensions with China, continued support to Ukraine, and changing operational requirements tied to cyber and space domains.

Rogers’s optimism arrives against a backdrop of uncertainty regarding the current fiscal year’s funding. Congress has yet to pass a full FY2026 appropriations package, relying instead on short-term continuing resolutions to keep the government open. These temporary measures prevent new program starts and can delay critical acquisitions, particularly in the defense sector.

Despite these constraints, Rogers signaled that his committee remains focused on long-term readiness and modernization. “We’re going to continue to lean in on capabilities that deter China and ensure our forces are equipped for the future fight,” he said.

The Indo-Pacific region remains a top concern for Pentagon planners and lawmakers alike. Rogers’s upcoming trip with members of the committee aims to assess force posture and strategic partnerships in the region—issues expected to feature prominently in the FY27 request.

Should the Pentagon meet the March deadline, it would allow appropriators and authorizers a rare opportunity to engage early and substantively with the proposed spending blueprint. In recent years, delayed budget submissions have led to compressed legislative calendars and complicated deliberations, frustrating efforts to provide the military with predictable and timely funding.

While Rogers’s remarks suggest a measure of stability in defense budgeting, they also underscore the larger challenges Congress faces in maintaining a functional appropriations process amid political volatility. Whether that optimism is borne out in the months ahead may ultimately hinge not only on the Pentagon’s readiness but also on the broader ability of lawmakers to reach bipartisan agreement on defense and overall government spending.