The U.S. military’s musical ventures have grown to include thousands of service members and at least 137 bands and 6,500 musicians. | John Shinkle/POLITICO House votes to curtail military bands

The House of Representatives is telling the military to lower the volume.

Lawmakers who have been advocating for reducing the size and cost of military bands — now a half - billion - dollar a year enterprise — won a key victory Thursday with passage of a provision that would bar funding for "musical units" to play at dinners, dances or social events.


The provision, the handiwork of Rep. Martha McSally, a retired Air Force colonel, would ensure funds are not spent on "entertaining generals, dignitaries and elected officials, all the different type of things that have nothing to do with appropriate military ceremonies" but reserved for ceremonial tasks such as funerals.

Her bipartisan amendment to the fiscal 2017 defense appropriations act was approved by voice vote.

From their humble origins in the American Revolution’s fife-and-drum corps, the U.S. military’s musical ventures have grown to include thousands of service members and at least 137 bands and 6,500 musicians — with some members outfitted with $11,000 flutes and $12,000 tubas.

"For every dollar that is spent on our bands ... to entertain at social functions, that's a dollar we're not spending on national security and our troops and our families," McSally said.

The band budget has drawn criticism from several lawmakers, including House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, who said military bands may not be appropriate "at every event."

The vote marks the first successful attempt to try to scale back the overall budget for military bands. The amendment was cosponsored by New Mexico Republican Steve Pearce and Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum, who tried herself several years ago to cap the spending on bands.

McCollum in 2011 and 2012 proposed a $200 million annual spending limit on military bands, but the effort got heavy push back inside the ranks and on Capitol Hill, who argued military musicians are a critical link between the men and women in uniform and those they protect.

McSally, an Arizona Republican has made it no secret she hopes to curtail use of the musicians for entertainment purposes, and has spoken out often about how such funds could be better spent to directly support ongoing military operations.

She told POLITICO that because military bands are funded through operation and maintenance accounts in each service, with this amendment , " We wanted to make sure we weren't looking like we were wanting to cut funding to the military personnel account."

McSally's had sent a letter , urging her colleagues to back the measure, which she said "will ensure military bands perform their proper duties and limit their performances to official ceremonies, honoring the fallen, and playing taps."

The amendment comes on top of legislation in the House's version of the defense authorization act passed last month that would require the Pentagon to determine whether it could ease cuts in combat units by reducing the number of musicians.

The language requires the Government Accountability Office to review the cost and size of military bands. It also directs Defense Secretary Ash Carter to take an inventory of the bands and study the feasibility of combining some.

It remains unclear whether the House's decision will prevail when a final appropriations bill is hashed out with the Senate. There is likely to be significant pushback.