Durbin In Defense Appropriations Hearing: Money Should Be Put Into Medical Research For Troops, Not Wasted On Pomp And Circumstance For The President
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today participated in a Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to review the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Defense (DOD). During the hearing, Durbin reprimanded Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for drastically cutting funding for defense medical research while claiming to support the service members who have experienced physical or mental trauma from their military service. In their exchange, Durbin expressed his frustration that military members and veterans will suffer because the Trump Administration has slashed funding at DOD and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for medical research on new treatments for devastating diseases and injuries.
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“I was surprised to learn that medical research has discovered the probability that men and women who serve our nation develop certain cancers [that are] more prevalent among them than the general population,” Durbin began.
“Brain injuries are particularly prevalent among some members of the military. Understanding the violence of that experience, it’s not a surprise. It does have long-term impact… Do you know why?” Durbin asked Secretary Hegseth.
Secretary Hegseth replied that brain trauma can occur when military members are exposed to blasts or are assigned to a specialty like artillery that positions service members near routine, loud noises.
“Do you feel a special responsibility as Secretary of Defense, representing these services and the men and women who are part of them, to make sure that we, as quickly as we can, get to the bottom of this and figure out what we can do, if anything, to reduce the likelihood of additional cancers or brain injuries?” Durbin asked.
Secretary Hegseth said that he served with many military members who suffered both physical and mental injuries, some so intense that veterans took their own lives. He claimed that he is committed to addressing this issue.
“Let me tell you what I’ve done about it as Chairman of this Subcommittee at one point in time. We dramatically increased medical research to protect the men and women in uniform. As we learn these things, we want to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible. It is enough for me that they risk their lives for our country. We shouldn’t make it a more dangerous situation, and we ought to understand what is going on in their minds and in their bodies when they serve,” Durbin said.
“I think we owe it to the men and women in uniform. Your budget cuts two-thirds of that amount for defense health research. How can that be consistent with our mutual goal of making military life safer for men and women in uniform?” Durbin asked.
Secretary Hegseth purported that his team has only cut research that would be considered wasteful or to be a “boondoggle.”
“Why? Give me an example of a ‘boondoggle’ in medical research?” Durbin asked.
“Marbles in the rear ends of cats, tens of millions of dollars. Things that don’t have a connection to what you’re talking about,” Secretary Hegseth offered, in a gross oversimplification of a research effort reportedly on new treatment approaches for spinal cord injuries, for which service members can be at higher risk.
Secretary Hegseth went further, claiming that he has only gone after “waste, fraud, and abuse.”
“Eliminating two-thirds of the money for defense health research, put that next to the decision to cut NIH medical research by 40 percent. Does that ‘Make America Great Again’ for these military families? I don’t think so,” Durbin said.
“$45 million for a parade for God’s sake,” Durbin said in reference to the President’s plan to host a military parade in Washington, D.C. this weekend on both his own and the U.S. Army’s birthday. “Money should be put in medical defense research instead of wasted on some pomp and circumstance for the President. This is not consistent with what the men and women in uniform deserve.”
The President’s FY26 budget request includes $972 million in Defense Health Program research, slashing the program’s budget by two-thirds as compared to FY24. Durbin has long been committed to steadily increasing the military’s budget for medical research. Since FY15, Durbin has worked to increase defense medical research funding by more than $1.4 billion, an 82 percent increase.
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