Air Force plans to increase flying hours and to improve parts availability took a hit June 24 as the House Appropriations Committee is on track to approve a spending bill cutting back both initiatives.
The bill, which must be voted on by the full House, cut the Air Force’s funding request for a revolving fund that enables more timely delivery of spare parts by half, reducing the request from $4.4 billion to $1.7 billion. The flying hours program cut was smaller, but significant, dropping $121 million from $7.265 billion to $7.144 billion.
The decisions demonstrate House appropriators willingness to dial back Pentagon funding from its record $1.5 trillion request. Among other key Air Force programs cut were:
- The Air Force Working Capital Fund, which was slashed 61 percent, from $4.4 billion to $1.7 billion
- Procurement by $1.54 billion
- Operations and maintenance by $360 million
Meanwhile, the committee voted to increase investment in Air Force research and development, adding $1.74 billion.
The working capital fund is used to made advance purchases of commercial goods, which are then paid for when the services need them, replenishing the fund for subsequent purchases. Injecting new capital into the funds was seen as a way of cutting down lead times and enabling more advance purchasing. The Air Force’s 2027 request sought a 3,012-percent increase, almost all of it for the Consolidated Sustainment Activity Group’s supply division, which manages the Air Force’s supply chain for spare parts.
In a report accompanying the bill, the committee criticized the request as “unjustified growth.” The approved total is still substantial, far above the other services’ working capital funds in 2027. At the same time, lawmakers added $375 million to the Air Force’s request for spares.
The working capital fund was a major piece of the Air Force’s budget plan and a priority for Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach. Another priority was flying hours: The Air Force sought a 22 percent increase for fiscal 2027, from $5.95 billion in 2026 budget to $7.27 billion, but House appropriators were unimpressed by the Air Force’s case, again citing “unjustified growth.”
Appropriators also took aim at the Air Force’s plan to acquire more KC-46 tankers to replace aging KC-135s. Citing “excess growth,” lawmakers slashed the Air Force’s $543 million request by 47 percent, removing $256 million.
It wasn’t all cuts though. Lawmakers added $300 million for two C-130J transports for the Air National Guard and $180 million for new HH-60W combat rescue helicopters, enough to pay for two or three of them.
They also added around $114 million for various B-52-related efforts, including self-protection upgrades, modernization and sustainment technologies, and sensor fusion for its AgilePod for communications. Calling out the Air Force’s modernization of the B-52’s high fidelity simulator, they added $20.6 million to the program and requested a briefing on “the status of the acquisition strategy, associated funding requirements, and estimated costs to develop and procure B–52 high fidelity simulators.”
The bill still has a long way to go before becoming law. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not released its version of the 2027 spending bill, and both the full House and Senate will get to vote on amendments to those measures. After that, the bills must be reconciled in conference and both chambers must vote again. Congress rarely completes the measures on time, and even in an election year few expect that to happen this time around. The likely scenario is that the measure will not pass before Oct. 1, and the Pentagon will once again begin the new fiscal year under a continuing resolution—as it has in 20 of the past 26 years.