An Unheard-of Progressive Rebellion in the Democratic Caucus
WASHINGTON, DC (April 14, 2019) —We are in an uphill battle to stop the Pentagon from gobbling up all our resources, and we need your help to fight back. Donald Trump’s team proposed increasing Pentagon spending to an inexplicable, mind-boggling 750 BILLION DOLLARS next year. And this came just weeks after he dipped into the Pentagon’s overflowing coffers to build his racist, unnecessary, hugely expensive border wall in an unconstitutional power grab.
Instead of opposing this absurd proposal, House Democrats “countered” by offering 733 BILLION DOLLARS to the Pentagon — a figure Trump’s Republican Congressional allies have called for — continuing to make funding for the war machine a priority.
Democrats control the House, which means they control the purse-strings, so why on earth would they give Trump exactly what he wants?! And that’s why it’s a HUGE deal that last week, an unheard-of rebellion in the Democratic caucus, led by progressives, beat back the obscene budget proposal.
We cracked the door open for the fight to come and showed that we won’t stay quiet for political expediency. And it wouldn’t have happened without progressives like you making a ruckus.
But this is only the beginning and it’s going to be a uphill battle to prevent the Pentagon from gobbling up all our resources, so we need your help to fight back.
Progressives Applaud House Dems For Pulling Unworkable Budget Bill
CREDO Action, Indivisible, MoveOn, and Win Without War
WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2019) — CREDO Action, Indivisible, MoveOn, and Win Without War released the following statement in response to the reports that House Democratic leadership has withdrawn its budget caps-raising bill, H.R. 2021, from the floor:
“Last week, we asked House
Democrats to scrap their budget proposal which would have thrown even more
money at the Pentagon’s already overflowing coffers at the expense of investing
in our communities and in solutions to real global challenges like climate
change.
“We were encouraged that House progressives agreed, and we commend House
leadership for ultimately pulling the bill from consideration.
“Now that the public and the progressive movement has spoken, we urge Democratic leadership to come up with a new plan based on the realities that are facing our country, and that prioritizes human needs over an already-bloated Pentagon budget.”
Trump’s Defense Budget Based On Greed Not Need
(March 11, 2019) — Win Without War Director Stephen Miles released the following statement regarding President Trump’s proposed FY2020 budget:
“The Trump administration’s proposed $750 billion so-called defense budget is yet another disgraceful corporate giveaway that will only serve to further line the pockets of defense industry CEOs rather than making us more secure. This unprecedented spending spree at the Pentagon is based on politics and greed, not security or need.
The United States already outspends the next ten countries combined (most of which are our allies). And there’s no reason to throw more money at the Pentagon amid continued waste, fraud, and abuse, and its inability to pass a financial audit.
“In fact, the $750 billion proposal is so outlandish that it’s nearly $20 billion more than defense officials were originally asking for, and it’s more than $30 billion above the $716 billion figure Trump himself called ‘crazy’ as recently as last December.
“Instead of rewarding Pentagon corruption and waste, the White House and the Congress should set the national defense budget at or below $576 billion — the level established by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 for FY2020 — eliminate the off-books slush fund the Pentagon uses to avoid budget caps, and work towards a budget that is more aligned with the priorities of the American people, not corporate CEOs.”
House Dem Budget Plan Must be Reworked to Fund People Not War and Waste
CREDO Action, Indivisible, MoveOn and Win Without War
WASHINGTON, DC (April 4, 2019) — CREDO Action, Indivisible, MoveOn, and Win Without War released the following statement in response to the House Budget Committee markup of H.R. 2021 Investing for the People Act of 2019:
“While we agree with the House Democrats in their rejection of Donald Trump’s immoral and draconian budget, the solution cannot and must not be to put even more money into an already bloated and wasteful budget for the Pentagon.
“House Democrats appear to be accepting at face value the absurd notion that the Pentagon needs more money, when it can’t even account for what it already spends, can’t even spend the obscene amount of money Congress already appropriates, and can’t rein in waste, fraud, and abuse.
This proposal also ignores the reality that Donald Trump is using the Pentagon’s overflowing coffers to advance anti-immigrant, extremist policies including needlessly deploying thousands of U.S. military personnel to the border and building his wall. Giving Donald Trump essentially what he wants and hoping that he returns the favor is nothing more than delusion masquerading as strategy.
“House Democrats should immediately drop this plan and instead put forward a bold vision that shows what it would actually look like to invest in people and our communities through much-needed domestic programs and to deal with real global challenges like climate change. ”
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