ACTION ALERT: Markey’s Mistaken Targeting of China
CODEPINK Petition
(June 3, 2021) — Tell Senator Markey to keep his campaign promises to cut out-of-control Pentagon spending and oppose violent military interventions abroad by voting NO on the US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021!
Last year during Massachusetts’ heated Democratic Senate Primary, incumbent Senator Ed Markey categorized his 2003 vote for the War in Iraq as a “mistake.” Now after winning re-election with the support of groups like Massachusetts Peace Action, Senator Markey has made another mistake in advancing the militaristic anti-China Strategic Competition Act out of committee.
The Strategic Competition Act, which has been folded into the US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, sets the stage for a new Cold War with China, while undermining Climate Envoy John Kerry’s negotiated agreement with Chinese leaders to achieve carbon neutrality. The bill calls for increased “combat ready troops” and missile shipments to the Indo-Pacific region, while funding racist and xenophobic anti-China propaganda. Senator Markey’s support for this bill goes against his stated support for cutting the bloated Pentagon budget that diverts funding from important domestic needs like education, healthcare, and transitioning to a green economy.
ACTION: Tell Senator Markey to keep his campaign promises to cut out-of-control Pentagon spending and oppose violent military interventions abroad, and support international climate agreements! Tell Senator Markey to vote no on the US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021!
While Senator Markey has advocated that the US adopt a No First Use Nuclear policy, his support for the Strategic Competition Act’s antagonistic anti-China posturing draws us closer to nuclear catastrophe. The Strategic Competition Act appropriates more than $650 million of our tax dollars to building up military forces around China, increasing the chances for nuclear accidents and escalation.
How can Senator Markey combat the global challenge of climate change when allocating billions of dollars to a new Cold War with China? Instead of working with China, the Strategic Competition Act stalls negotiation and compromise between the world’s two largest economies, drawing investment and political will away from reducing global emissions and toward wasteful military expansion.
While Senator Markey has advocated that the US adopt a No First Use Nuclear policy, his support for the Strategic Competition Act’s antagonistic anti-China posturing draws us closer to nuclear catastrophe. The Strategic Competition Act appropriates more than $650 million of our tax dollars to building up military forces around China, increasing the chances for nuclear accidents and escalation.
How can Senator Markey combat the global challenge of climate change when allocating billions of dollars to a new Cold War with China? Instead of working with China, the Strategic Competition Act stalls negotiation and compromise between the world’s two largest economies, drawing investment and political will away from reducing global emissions and toward wasteful military expansion.
If Senator Markey won’t vote No on wasteful military spending and anti-diplomatic war-mongering with China, then when will the Senator act on his progressive promises?
Senator Markey’s support for the Strategic Competition Act in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee undermines both his foreign and domestic policy goals by expanding the military-industrial complex, demonizing Asian and Asian American people, and diverting our tax dollars from important domestic programs like Universal Healthcare and the Green New Deal.
ACTION: Now is the time to urge Senator Markey to vote against increasing military funding for violent, dangerous, and destabilizing “forever wars”!
Onward toward peace,
Madison, Jodie, RJ, the CODEPINK China Is Not Our Enemy campaign
Together we can end the US imperial aggression against China that threatens the safety of us all. Together we can achieve peace in the Pacific and US-China cooperation to address the planetary crises of our time.
Follow our #ChinaIsNotOurEnemy campaign for more actions and education opportunities, and follow our Twitter account here!
Finally, please pass this petition to a friend! Your friends can sign here: http://www.codepink.org/markeychina?recruiter_id=720081
PS: Spread peace, not germs! Keep yourself and your community safe with our CODEPINK peace sign masks.
