March 16, 2017
Dear Mr. Speaker:
I
ask the Congress to consider the enclosed appropriations request for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2017. The request includes an additional $30 billion for the
Department of Defense (DOD) to rebuild the U.S. Armed Forces and accelerate the
campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and an
additional $3 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for urgent
border protection activities. This appropriations request would provide $24.9
billion in the DOD base budget for urgent war fighting readiness needs and to
begin a sustained effort to rebuild the U.S. Armed Forces. The request seeks to
address critical budget shortfalls in personnel, training, maintenance,
equipment, munitions, modernization, and infrastructure investment. It
represents a critical first step in investing in a larger, more ready, and more
capable military force. The request also includes $5.1 billion in the Overseas
Contingency Operations budget for DOD to accelerate the campaign to defeat ISIS
and support Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan. This request would
enable DOD to pursue a comprehensive strategy to end the threat ISIS poses to
the United States. In addition, this appropriations request would provide an
additional $3 billion for DHS implementation of my executive orders on border
security and immigration enforcement. The request would fund efforts to plan,
design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border, and make other
critical investments in tactical border infrastructure and technology. The
request also proposes funding to increase immigration detention capacity, which
is necessary to ensure the removal of illegal aliens from the United States.
Finally, the request funds new recruiting capacity at DHS so that it may hire
additional immigration law enforcement officers and agents.
