Virginia Lawmaker Calls for Speedy Passage of Defense Supplemental Bill

Rep. Rob Wittman said that when lawmakers return, they should prioritize the passage of a supplemental spending bill that would provide new revenue to the Pentagon.

A key reason would be to replenish weapon systems that have been depleted during the ongoing war with Iran.

“The reconciliation bill that passed out of the House has $67 billion in it to restock these weapons magazines, and we already have the longer-term contracts to create some more certainty for the companies that produce these weapons,” Wittman told the Daily Signal.

“My hope is that as soon as we get back in November—the House has already passed it, the Senate should have passed it, they didn’t—hopefully, as soon as they get back, they’ll pass it to make sure we get those dollars out there,” he added. “The readiness accounts, which is where those dollars come from now, are really almost out of money, so we want to make sure we’re doing those things.”

Wittman is in the final days of a bruising reelection contest against Democrat Shannon Taylor in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District. Whether or not he emerges victorious on Nov. 3, the Republican will be back in Washington next month for the post-election session of the outgoing Congress. It’s known as a lame-duck session because it will include many lawmakers who are leaving Congress—through retirement or because they lost a bid for reelection—in January.

The Daily Signal also reached out to other candidates from Virginia.

“[President Donald] Trump and [Secretary of War Pete] Hegseth’s unnecessary war with Iran has depleted defensive interceptor missile stockpiles and made our troops sitting ducks in the Middle East,” Beth Macy, a Democrat running in the 6th District, told the Daily Signal.

“The wars in Ukraine and Iran have shown the necessity for efficient, less expensive defense systems to combat drones, which are infinitely cheaper than Patriot missiles,” she added. “We’re spending millions per missile to stop $20,000 Iranian drones. We should ramp up drone interceptor technology and modernize the Patriot and terminal high altitude area defense systems as soon as possible. We should let smaller, more nimble companies show us what can be developed quickly, rather than rely on expensive legacy defense corporations to handle all of this.”

For his part, Wittman expects that lawmakers can pass the spending bill before the new Congress convenes next January.

“It has to be done quickly,” he told The Daily Signal. “This is in the Senate’s ballpark, so if they want something different, then pass something and send it back to the House. Let us get it negotiated, but it should be the priority there for the Senate to be able to get this done just because of the national security implications.”

Wittman is vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and chairman of its Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee until the end of the year. He said that the process of upgrading the nation’s military capacity is well underway.

“We’re focused on rebuilding our Navy, rebuilding the maritime industrial base to be able to build ships. We’re also refocusing on modernization. I formed the defense modernization caucus, where we are putting lots of effort into these unmanned systems” he said.

Warfare styles are changing, and Wittman warned that the U.S. must adapt. “We see what’s happening in Ukraine. I mean, really, the future for us is to be able to counter these swarms of unmanned systems,” he said. “We see what’s happening there in Iran. So those things are critical for us to do to produce systems that are greater in capability, but equal in cost with threats we face from others.”

Dealing with today’s threats doesn’t necessarily mean throwing money at a problem, though. Wittman noted that America’s foes can inflict damage by using cheaper weapons. “You look at the Shahad-136 drone, that’s about $50,000 a copy. We don’t want to be forced to use $3 million and $4 million missiles, like an SM-3 or an SM-6, to shoot down a $50,000 threat.”

The congressman said it is possible to protect American forces while deploying less expensive technology. “That’s why we’re building that capability now with those expendable platforms that are unmanned, to be able to counter what comes at us in these unmanned systems.”

Wittman said he expects that both houses will gavel in around Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day.

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