Combatant commanders head to Capitol Hill to face budget questions

Key defense leaders will testify on Capitol Hill this week on the White House’s fiscal 2025 budget request, even as the fiscal 2024 military appropriations plan still needs to be completed.

Seven combatant commanders are scheduled to appear at hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, with all expecting to face questions about their respective sections of the budget ask. Lawmakers hope to have work on that spending plan done ahead of Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

But the House and Senate also need to finalize a partial government funding plan — including the Department of Defense’s appropriations — for fiscal 2024. Most federal agencies have been operating on short-term budget plans for the last five months, but lawmakers hope to pass a full-year plan by the end of this week.