House committee advances spending bill with cuts to Air Force flying hours, other programs

U.S. House lawmakers approved a fiscal year 2027 spending bill that would include cuts to the Air Force’s flying hours and other budget requests.

In the Operation and Maintenance portfolio of the Weapons System Sustainment program, the Department of the Air Force requested $9.9 billion for its entire Flying Hour Program in April in an effort to boost pilot flying hours to over a million for fiscal year 2027 — an increase of 22%.

While the Air Force requested $7.265 billion for its Flying Hour Program, the House Committee on Appropriations recommended a $121 million decrease for a total of slightly over $7.144 billion because of “unjustified growth,” per a committee spending bill approved on Wednesday.

The Pentagon’s record-breaking funding request of $1.5 trillion has faced pushback from some lawmakers, citing concerns for its funding of the Iran war and other military operations as well as its impact on domestic programs.

The move by House lawmakers to cut parts of services’ requests follows a warning from a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink that he should prepare for a possible government shutdown over the spending bill.

In a June Senate hearing on the Department of the Air Force’s budget, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said that lawmakers across the aisle are not agreeing on the amount of increase necessary for the military’s funding.

Alongside the flying hours decrease, other Air Force programs saw cuts, such as the Working Capital Fund, procurement and operations and maintenance.

The Working Capital Fund faced the steepest cut with a $2.7 billion decrease from the $4.4 billion requested for a resulting total of $1.7 billion, a roughly 60% slash. Procurement funding for items such as aircraft, missiles and ammunition was cut by $1.5 billion for a total of over $72 billion.

For the Air Force, operations and maintenance saw a $726 million decrease for a total of $73 billion, while the Space Force, which is in the Department of the Air Force, saw a $465 million decrease to $8.8 billion.

For research, development, test and evaluation, the bill increased the amount allotted for the Air Force by $1.7 billion from $73 billion to $74 billion. The committee also recommended increases to the B-52 modernization program as well as funding for additional C-130J aircraft for the Air National Guard and additional HH-60Ws, which are combat rescue helicopters.

The bill is advancing to the full House floor for a vote. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to release their version of the spending bill.