For Immediate Release:
March 6, 2026
Contact:
Gabe Murphy
gabe@taxpayer.net
Washington, D.C. – In response to the reports that the White House plans to seek supplemental funding to cover costs associated with the unauthorized war in Iran, Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) president Steve Ellis released the following statement:
“Congress voted to hand the president unchecked war powers — now it’s being asked to hand him a blank check to pay for it. Any supplemental funding request must be scrutinized on its merits, but lawmakers should have no illusions: approving this money will be treated as de facto authorization for an unauthorized war. Having already abdicated its war powers, Congress cannot afford to abdicate its power of the purse as well, and should reject this supplemental.
“The Pentagon is awash in cash. Congress just approved an 18 percent funding boost this year and tucked a $153 billion slush fund into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Pentagon has plenty of latitude to use funds already appropriated to replenish depleted supplies and munitions. Supplemental war funding will not protect our servicemembers — it will give the appearance of consent for this unauthorized war.
“We are already hearing talk of adding tens of billions for long-delayed wildfire and disaster assistance and a bailout for the agriculture sector. Congress should not turn this supplemental into a Christmas tree. These are important issues that deserve serious consideration on their own — they should not be used as leverage to rubber-stamp an unauthorized war. The stakes are too high for that kind of horse-trading.
“The president has said he will request a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget for the coming year — a more than 40 percent increase over last year. Instead of approving another Pentagon spending spree that would waste taxpayer dollars and exacerbate the debt crisis, lawmakers should include provisions in the budget to prohibit the use of funds for ongoing military operations in Iran without explicit congressional approval.”
Background:
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last summer included over $24 billion for munitions, $15 billion for scaling low-cost weapons, and over $24 billion for missile defense. Due to inherent oversight problems associated with budgeting for the Pentagon through reconciliation, the Pentagon has wide latitude to repurpose funds from OBBBA as it sees fit.
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Taxpayers for Common Sense is a nonpartisan budget watchdog committed to eliminating wasteful spending and promoting fiscal transparency and accountability.
