By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US lawmakers grilled Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll on Wednesday over the reported $45 million cost of an upcoming parade to celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary.
Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George testified before the House Armed Services Committee on the Army's readiness and posture for fiscal year 2026.
During his opening statement, Driscoll said it is his duty to ensure that every dollar the Army receives contributes to defending the nation.
"We are asking for this committee to work with us to maximize the value of every dollar appropriated to best support our soldiers," he said.
However, a lawmaker asked how the parade contributes to defending the nation.
"We think it's an incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand our recruiting pool and tell the amazing story of the United States Army and the impact that it's had," Driscoll said.
The Army is planning a week-long celebration starting on June 7 through Flag Day on June 14 which falls on President Donald Trump’s birthday.
A lawmaker said it is an "interesting time" to spend that amount of money on a parade when all the services are subject to an 8% budget cut.
"If Congress wrote the Army a $45 million blank check, do you think you could find a better way to spend that money than a parade?" he said.
"Very sincerely, I think we as the United States have an amazing opportunity to tell a story of an institution that is older than our country itself...I believe very specifically that telling that story will directly lead to a recruiting boom that will fill up our pipeline for the coming years," Driscoll said.
Driscoll said he believes that the investment of these dollars to tell that story will "directly lead to a good, measurable, quantitative outcome for the Army."
"I think it would be a massive tragedy to let this moment pass where we can tell this story and inculcate an entire generation of youth into this amazing story that is the United States Army," he noted.
Planning for the parade started years ago, he added.