Slotkin Statement on Voting No in the Armed Services Committee on 2027 Pentagon Budget  

Worked to secure $200 million for Selfridge and $4.4 million for Grayling, first-ever guardrails on DoD AI use, ban on Chinese vehicles on bases, insider trading ban for DoD employees and cancer screening for firefighters 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced today that she voted against the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the Senate Armed Services Committee.   

“I voted against the NDAA passing out of the Armed Services Committee because this budget provides $1.15 trillion in funding to the Pentagon and does nothing to address the elephant in the room, which is President Trump’s war in Iran. By some estimates, that war is costing American taxpayers $1 billion a day.  

“Additionally, this budget’s high price tag comes as the President has cut healthcare, food assistance, cancer research and other programs vital to Michiganders. While I am a no out of committee, I am keeping my options open forsupport when the NDAA comes to the floor of the Senate.” 

“This is a tough vote for me, because I worked hard to secure key wins for Michigan, including $200 million to build a new F-15EX hangar and fix the runway at Selfridge, and $4.4 million to a joint training center at Camp Grayling. I also worked to include my AI Guardrails Act which for the first time will set left and right limits on the Pentagon’s use of AI, a full ban of Chinese vehicles on U.S. military bases both at home, like at Selfridge and Battle Creek, and abroad, as well as our bill to cover cancer screenings for federal firefighters.” 

During the committee’s two-day discussion of this bill, Slotkin pushed for amendments to ensure that President Trump could not violate the law and use the military to interfere in elections, either by  sending the U.S. military to polling locations or using the military to seize voter ballots or voting machines. Republicans defeated this effort along a party line vote. This has long been a priority of Slotkin’s, who recently questioned U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on this topic.  

Slotkin worked in a bipartisan way to improve the underlying text of the bill. She led 43 provisions that were successfully included, including three of her own bills. Slotkin worked to secure the following wins for Michigan and the United States within the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 

New Missions, New Tech, and New Jobs for Michigan: 

• Selfridge Military Construction: Continuing to prioritize funding for military construction at Selfridge Air National Guard Base with $200 million for a new hangar to house the F-15EX fighter jets and a new runway, along with $4.4 million for a new joint training center at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC). 

• Drone Center of Excellence at NADWC: Builds on NADWC’s designation as DoD’s first drone testing site by bringing DoD one step closer to establishing a national Drone Center of Excellence at NADWC, positioning Michigan to be the nation’s drone capital. 

• Michigan Drone Hub: Pushes for creating a dedicated manufacturing hub in Michigan for drones and counter-drone technology to boost DoD’s domestic drone manufacturing. 

• Comprehensive Review of DoD Drone Acquisition and Integration: Directs a top-to-bottom review of how the Department of Defense acquires and integrates drones into military operations, cutting waste and accelerating delivery of drones. 

• PFAS Remediation: Holds DoD accountable for PFAS cleanup, provides more resources to impacted communities, and mandates greater transparency. 

• DARPA Recruitment: Strengthens DARPA’s ability to recruit top talent, helping America maintain its technological edge. 

• Support for Lebanese Armed Forces Special Forces: Requires DOD to prioritize U.S. security cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces Special Forces and build their capabilities, in response to direct requests for additionalsupport from the Lebanese government during Senator Slotkin’s travel there in February. 

Holding the Trump Administration’s DOD Accountable 

• Firings of Generals to Require Explanation: Requires the Administration to provide Congress with written justification when senior military officers are fired or removed, protecting the independence of military leadership from political interference at a time when more than more than 20 generals and admirals have been forced out of the military. 

• Ban on Insider Trading in Prediction Markets for DoD Employees: Prohibits Department of Defense employees from trading on prediction markets using non-public information, and using sensitive information from their roles to profit personally. 

• Reining in Potential Corruption in DOD Equity Investments: Requires DOD to look for any potential conflicts of interest between Administration officials and a company, such as the President’s son sitting on the board, beforeDOD makes an equity investment. 

Common Sense Guardrails on Artificial Intelligence 

• AI Guardrails Act: Establishes first ever comprehensive safeguards governing the development and deployment of artificial intelligence across the Department of Defense, that ensure a human has ultimate decision authority when deadly autonomous weapons are fired, AI cannot be used to spy on the American people, and that a human is on the switch to launch nuclear weapons. This is the first AI regulation of its kind for the U.S. military. 

• Codification of DoD AI Guidelines for Autonomous Lethal Weapons: Writes into law the Department of Defense’s existing policy guidelines on autonomous lethal weapons systems, creating durable, enforceable standards forhuman control over life-and-death decisions on the battlefield. 

• AI Chain of Command and Doctrine: Establishes clear lines of authority and accountability for the use of AI systems in military operations and directs DOD to develop joint doctrine for the use of AI, just as it did forcounterinsurgency operations during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

• AI Bill of Materials Requirement: Increases oversight on what is going into the AI that DOD is using by requiring AI companies to provide DoD full transparency over the AI components embedded in defense systems, improving oversight and supply chain security. 

Protecting Americans against Threats from China 

• Ban on Chinese Connected Vehicles from U.S. Military Bases: Incorporates Slotkin’s Protecting Military Bases from Connected Vehicles of Concern Act, banning Chinese connected vehicles from all U.S. military installations. 

• Protecting DoD Systems from Quantum Computing Threats: Directs DoD to accelerate transition to post-quantum cryptography to protect sensitive national security systems from emerging quantum computing threats. 

• Enhanced Security for DOD Data Centers against Foreign Adversaries: Creates a pilot program to protect DOD and other national security data infrastructure from foreign attacks. 

Delivering for Federal Firefighters 

• Federal Firefighter Cancer Detection and Prevention: Incorporates Slotkin’s bill to expand no-cost cancer screening and prevention programs for federal firefighters, including those serving on military installations. 

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