Make America Stronger: Cut the Pentagon Budget

The deal in Congress to raise the debt ceiling set up The Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, a “super committee” comprised of six Representatives and six Senators, tasked with finding $1.2 to $1.5 trillion in additional budget savings over the next 10 years. Everything from raising taxes to cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will be on the table. The Pentagon budget--now more than 58% of all discretionary spending--must take a significant share of these cuts.

Cries of poverty from the Pentagon ring false—its total budget is now higher than at any time since the end of World War II. Cost over-runs for questionable weapons systems annually equal the entire budget of the State Department. Accountability, such a popular idea now, needs to be applied to the Pentagon. Far from protecting our safety, the government spends 12 times as much on offensive capacity to pursue wars as it spends on true defensive measures, nuclear arms control, diplomatic initiatives to prevent war, and homeland security*.

Domestic programs must not be sacrificed in these hard times while Pentagon extravagances and skewed priorities are preserved. Members of the “super committee” must protect the health and safety of children, families and communities with programs such as Medicaid, school lunches, food safety, environmental protections and the State Department.

Urge them to pressure their colleagues on the ‘super committee’ to protect domestic programs, end tax cuts for the wealthy, close loop-holes to produce revenue, and ensure that the majority of cuts come from excesses in the Pentagon budget. You can also directly contact the 12 members of the ‘super committee.’ See below for their names and contact information. They may not allow on-line messages from non-constituents, but letters and phone calls will get through.

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 

*Unified Security Budget 2012, Institute for Policy Studies, 
http://www.fpif.org/reports/unified_security_budget_fy2012

Photo Credit: Pumpkin and Full Moon, 1971, Lois Barber 

Congressional Debt Supercommittee

	Democrats	Republicans
Senate members	Patty Murray, Washington, Co-Chair Max Baucus, Montana John Kerry, Massachusetts	Jon Kyl, Arizona Rob Portman, Ohio Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania
House members	Xavier Becerra, California Jim Clyburn, South Carolina Chris Van Hollen, Maryland	Jeb Hensarling, Texas, Co-Chair Fred Upton, Michigan Dave Camp, Michigan