Beaver County News

Chris Deluzio, a member of the U.S. Congress representing Pennsylvania’s 17th district since 2023, recently expressed concerns on social media regarding defense spending by the Air Force. Born in Pittsburgh and currently residing in Aspinwall, Deluzio is drawing attention to potential financial inefficiencies within military expenditures.

On February 12, 2025, Congressman Deluzio highlighted what he described as exorbitant costs incurred by the Air Force for basic items. He noted that "For basic soap dispensers—the same kind you use in a restaurant bathroom or commercial plane lavatory—defense contractors had the Air Force pay 80x the normal price. For spare pressure transmitters—a key piece of equipment to monitor aircraft systems—the Air Force paid a 3,556%…"

In another post made on the same day, Deluzio emphasized the broader implications of such spending practices. He stated that "This price gouging is costing us a ton of money and imperiling our national security. Anyone serious about increasing efficiency has to start with this wasteful defense spending. If not, tough talk is just a bunch of political theater to justify plundering our government to make…"

Furthermore, Deluzio provided context on the significance of defense expenditure within the federal budget: "Remember, defense makes up more than 1/8th of the entire federal budget—around $872 billion every year. It is the biggest way our government spends discretionary money (funds not already marked for earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare). 7/8"