The 4^th of July holiday is upon us. It’s time for Americans to indulge in annual traditions: crank up the barbeque, visit the beach, watch some fireworks, catch a hometown parade, or go to a baseball game. We will also spend some time contemplating American democracy, now celebrating its 245^th year.

The Congress, in one of its own annual traditions, released the first draft of spending legislation granting the Pentagon the money to operate in the coming fiscal year. The House version of the bill gives the Pentagon $706.4 billion, with another just under $11 billion for Military Construction in separate legislation.

The text of the Defense Appropriations bill clocks in at 145 pages. That’s about $48.7 million per page…until you realize that just 45 pages of the text actually appropriates funds. Then it works out to just under $157 million per page. So what’s the deal with the rest of the 100 pages of bill text?

Meet “General Provisions.” As we’ve said before, our best Appropriations pro tip is: always read the General Provisions. Because spending bills are only for one fiscal year, these provisions only have the force of law for the duration of that year. So many of these items are repeat free riders year after year.

Buy American: Patriotism or Waste?

As they have for years, the House Appropriators use General Provisions to tuck away so-called “Buy American” provisions, requiring the Pentagon to buy certain products from American-only sources. Our position is, and has always been, the military services deserve the best equipment, wherever it is manufactured. Let’s call this what it is: protectionism. Lawmakers put their thumbs on the scale for certain hometown interests. This year the list includes, Anchor and Mooring Chain (Section 8016), all “entities” selling to the Pentagon (Section 8031), Steel Plate (Section 8032), Ball Bearings (Section 8034), Supercomputers (Section 8035 and, okay, we agree with this one but include it for the fullness of the record), U.S. flags (Section 8037), certain Fleet Oiler and Frigate components (Section 8103), and Pumps and Propulsion shafts on three different classes of ships (Section 8104).

Parochialism: Patriotism or Micromanagement?

Then there are the General Provisions prohibiting the Pentagon from taking management actions they may, or even may not, be considering. So, no demilitarization or destruction of a whole host of small arms or ammunition unless the Secretary of the Army deems them unserviceable or unsafe (Section 8018).

The Navy may not put the head of all Fleet Forces (literally, the Admiral whose title is “Fleet Forces Command”) in operational control of forces assigned to the Pacific Fleet (Section 8071). No change beyond the command relationship proscribed in 2004 may occur. This was a cause for a late Senator from Hawaii, but it remains in the boilerplate language.

The Air Force Reserve may not “reduce or disestablish” the 53^rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (Section 8080). This squadron is housed at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. We’re sure it’s merely a coinky-dink that Rep. Steve Palazzo (R-MS) is a member of the House Appropriations Committee!

The Navy can forget plans (Section 8105) to decommission three of the Freedom Class of Littoral Combat Ships, USS Fort Worth, USS Detroit, and USS Little Rock, all of which are reported to have significant propulsion issues. Look, we have our concerns about the need to decommission ships built in 2012, 2016, and 2017, respectively. But the whole LCS class has turned out – predictably – to be lemons. The Navy shouldn’t be forced to throw good money after bad. And worse, think of the sailors on the lousy ships. Good plan, right up until the House Appropriators threw in that monkey wrench.

Space Farce Force Meet Parochialism

Then there is a whole series of things Congress tells the brand-spanky-new Space Force that it may not do. The National Reconnaissance Office may not become part of Space Force (Section 8116). In fact, no element of the other military services may be even proposed for transfer to Space Force in the next President’s Budget Request unless a long list of reports is given to the Congress (Section 8117). And for good measure, no “field operating agency” may be established by Space Force (Section 8118). Phew! Makes you wonder why Congress agreed to have a Space Force in the first place. Can we just get rid of it now?

As you can imagine there is a lot more in those 100 pages. And the Senate hasn’t even weighed in yet. The wasteful parochialism hardly ends there.