1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

No New Iran War Funding  I am writing regarding the Administration's $87.6 billion supplemental funding request, which includes $67.1 billion for the Department of Defense in connection with the Iran war. It also includes items unrelated to defense, such as $11.1 billion for farm aid (USDA), and $1.4 billion for an Ebola response, among other items. I ask that you oppose bundling any unrelated items with the defense request. The farm aid is tied to losses from retaliatory tariffs, and the Ebola funding is needed because USAID funding and staffing cuts have been widely documented as hampering outbreak containment in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Both are in large part consequences of the Administration's own prior decisions and, along with the other unrelated items tucked in to this bill, deserve to be debated as separate legislation, not used as leverage to secure votes for war funding.   On the defense portion, I do not believe this Administration has ever stated a coherent strategy for ending this war, and I do not believe it deserves additional funding to continue it. Consider the record since the conflict began on February 28, 2026:   - The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world's oil passes, was open before this war began. It has been effectively closed to commercial shipping ever since, apart from a brief reopening under a June 17 ceasefire agreement that collapsed within days.  And now, Iran's ally, the Houthis, announced a blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on July 21, 2026 - the other major oil route in the region - meaning both key regional chokepoints are now disrupted at once.   - Despite repeated Administration claims that Iran's capabilities have been "decimated," Iranian forces have continued striking U.S. military positions in Kuwait and Bahrain, targeting commercial shipping, and attacking U.S.-linked assets in the Gulf as recently as mid-July 2026.   - The IAEA has been unable to verify the location of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium since February 2026.   Nearly five months in, with no consistent strategic objective, a war that has closed off the region's two major oil routes, and continued attacks by Iran despite claims of U.S. victory, I do not believe this represents a case for more funding. I ask that you require the Administration to answer for the following:   1. A full accounting of how the $37.5 billion already spent on the Iran war this year was used.   2. Why the approximately $75 billion still unspent from the $156 billion the Department received last year under the reconciliation bill is insufficient.   3. If the funds are intended to rebuild munitions stockpiles, why the $76.3 billion already requested for munitions in the FY27 defense budget does not cover this need.   I also note that Congress has already exercised its constitutional authority on this conflict: the House passed a War Powers Resolution on June 3, and the Senate passed a concurrent resolution on June 23, 2026, directing the President to end U.S. hostilities with Iran. Military operations have continued since. I believe Congress should press the Administration for an actual plan to end this conflict, not simply give it more money to prolong it.   Thank you for your attention to this matter.