Sponsors (4)
The bill increases transparency and avoids new appropriations by requiring DoD to fund renaming from existing travel budgets and report costs to Congress, but does so by reallocating travel funds in ways that risk curtailing training/inspections, creating trade-offs that may degrade readiness and impose indirect costs on taxpayers.
Taxpayers: The Department of Defense must fund the renaming from existing travel budgets, avoiding the need for immediate new appropriations.
Taxpayers and federal employees: The Department of Defense must report to Congress within one year on actual renaming costs, increasing transparency about spending.
Military personnel and federal employees: Reallocating travel funds will reduce travel budgets for the Department and military departments, potentially curtailing training, inspections, or official travel and harming readiness.
Taxpayers and military personnel: Forcing renaming costs onto existing travel budgets creates trade-offs within defense spending that can indirectly shift costs onto taxpayers and degrade other programs or readiness.
Department of Defense and taxpayers: A non‑binding 'sense of Congress' provision could signal legislative intent that complicates administrative efforts to rename the Department even though it does not legally bind the Department.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires DoD to pay costs to change the Department name to "Department of War" by reallocating existing travel funds and report spending to Congress within one year.
Official title: Require amounts used to pay the costs of the renaming the Department of Defense to be derived from the travel budget of the Secretary of Defense, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 17, 2025 by Angela Deneece Alsobrooks · Last progress September 17, 2025
Requires the Secretary of Defense to pay costs to change the Department’s name from “Department of Defense” to “Department of War” by using existing travel funds (first DoD travel funds, then military departments’ travel funds if needed), defines covered costs (signage, websites, stationery, printed and digital media), and mandates a report to Congress within one year listing amounts obligated or spent. Includes findings about the historical origin of the Department’s name and a congressional sense that only Congress can change the Department’s name.