Friends Committee on National Legislation – 2008-02-08 23:27:49
http://action.fcnl.org/r/5617/45326/
(February 7, 2008) — For the first time in history, the total 2009 U.S. military budget proposed by the president will surpass one trillion dollars. The military budget has increased by 70 percent since President Bush took office, according to the White House. FCNL calculates that the increase may be closer to 100 percent: http://action.fcnl.org/r/5616/45326/.
This amount of military spending starves other domestic and international priorities, shortchanging programs that are vital to our security, health, and welfare as a nation.
The president’s budget proposes reducing domestic spending by $454 billion in the next five years. These cuts would be felt by millions of people in this country. Internationally, the administration continues to focus on building US capabilities to fight and win wars, while providing little money for the tools necessary to prevent deadly conflict. Has the spectacular failure of the war in Iraq taught the U. nothing? Find out more about what’s in the president’s budget: http://action.fcnl.org/r/5617/45326/.
Now Congress will take up the budget. If past years are any guide, members will declare the president’s budget “dead on arrival,” then use it as a blueprint for their budget proposal anyway. If some of those zeroes are going to come off of the military budget, Congress needs to move beyond the ritual declarations and do the hard political work of making the way the US spends its money match the values of the country.
This work will take years. But it is work that we need to start doing now if we want to leave any legacy for future generations.
Take Action
Write your representative today. Urge him or her to write a letter to the chairs and minority leader of the budget committee urging them to make room in the budget for programs that will prevent future wars and address poverty and human needs at home: http://action.fcnl.org/r/5618/45326/.
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