ACTION ALERT:
Pass the People Over Pentagon Act
Monique Teal / Daily Kos

(February 27 2023) — Every year Congress and the President add more money to the Pentagon budget for outdated ships, malfunctioning planes, dangerous nuclear weapons, and giveaways to corrupt defense contractors

.  In addition, the Pentagon has never passed an audit and has not been held accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse.

As a result, the U.S. military budget is now $858 billion — more than China, Russia, and the next seven countries combined.

The People Over Pentagon Act (H.R. 1134), led by Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee and Mark Pocan, would cut $100 billion from the three-quarters-of-a-trillion-dollar Pentagon budget. The would still leave plenty to keep America safe at a level well above our country’s post-World War II average.

This legislation would free up more funds to feed the hungry, care for the sick, protect our planet, fund education, and cut childhood poverty.

The bill exempts troop pay and the Defense Health Agency, while reducing waste and encouraging lawmakers to spend this funding on the true needs of their constituents instead.

According to a 2021 CBO report, we can afford to cut $100 billion from military spending without impacting security. That money can be redistributed to domestic security, like hiring one million elementary school teachers amid a worsening teacher shortage or powering every household in the United States with solar energy.

It’s past time to realign our national spending priorities. This legislation would free up more funds to feed the hungry, care for the sick, protect our planet, fund education, and cut childhood poverty.

ACTION: Tell Congress to Pass the
People over Pentagon Act (H.R. 1134)

THE LETTER

This year’s military budget — $858 billion — is the second-highest since World War II. It is greater than the next nine countries combined. More than half of the budget will go straight to big corporate weapons contractors. Our current trajectory would send our military budget over the $1 trillion mark in several years! That’s stunning, given the Pentagon has never passed an audit or accounted for its billions in taxpayer dollars.

We can and should be prioritizing human needs and addressing the climate emergency. And we can do so by spending less on the wasteful Pentagon budget. We oppose pouring billions, sometimes even trillions, of our dollars into outdated ships, malfunctioning planes, or record-breaking defense contractor CEO salaries while the needs of everyday people are neglected.

Please pass the People Over Pentagon Act (H.R. 1134)!