Cut Military Spending to Reduce U.S. Debt

A pitched battle over spending is brewing between now and August 2, when, if Congress fails to act, the U.S. government may default on its debts for the first time in history. Despite conservative demands to “get the deficit under control” their leading proposal, from House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, would at best cut the ten-year deficit by $1.6 trillion from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline projection. Alternately, the leading progressive proposal, the “People’s Budget” of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, would reduce the deficit by nearly three times as much, $4.7 trillion, including nearly $2.3 trillion of cuts in military spending.

Ryan’s proposal, and Republican demands, keep most of the military budget untouched, while providing huge tax giveaways for the wealthy and enacting draconian cuts in Medicare and basic services for all Americans. Their proposed defense spending actually increases beyond the CBO projection, except for declines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Military spending should be the main target for reductions in the debt debate. The military represents more than half of all discretionary spending—nearly $8 trillion over ten years. The People’s Budget with its reasonable proposals for military cuts should guide our way, and Congress should enact the recommendations from Barney Frank’s Sustainable Defense Task Force. This report calls for over $1 trillion in defense cuts over ten years, including $200 billion from nuclear weapons programs: reducing the U.S. nuclear arsenal to 1,000 warheads, canceling the Trident II missile, foregoing nuclear weapons “modernization,” and limiting expenditures on so-called missile defense and space-based weapons systems.

Urge them to enact the People’s Budget, follow the recommendations of the Sustainable Defense Task Force, and reduce our future spending by substantially cutting the Pentagon budget, particularly for unnecessary and dangerous nuclear weapons development. To leave this budget off the table, while cutting back on vital human needs, would be wildly irresponsible.

Via their websites:: www.house.gov & www.senate.gov

Telephone: 202 224-3121 (Capitol switchboard)

Write: Representative or Senator (first name & last name)

US House of Representatives        or       US Senate

Washington, DC 20515                            Washington, DC 20515

Photo credit:  Kristin Nicholas is a sheep farmer who with her husband Mark Duprey runs Leyden Glen Farm in the beautiful hills of Leyden, MA. They currently raise over 500 sheep and lambs for their grass-fed lamb meat business. You can visit their website at www.leydenglenlamb.com  (email: kristinnicholas@gmail.com, phone: 413 774 6514).

Special Announcement: If you are in the Boston area on July 16^th (exactly 66 years from the beginning of the nuclear age with the Trinity atom bomb test), join the Festival for a Nulcear Free Future, 2-5 pm at Copley Square, Boston, for an afternoon of music, games, green energy demonstrations, supersized puppets, and timely presentations.