60+ Groups Demand Senate Pass Sanders Amendment to Slash 'Out of Control' Pentagon Budget by $74 Billion

More than 60 progressive advocacy groups representing millions of members across the U.S. are pressuring senators to pass an amendment led by Sen. Bernie Sanders that would cut the proposed Pentagon budget by 10% and redirect the $74 billion in savings toward funding healthcare, education, jobs, and housing in impoverished and neglected communities.

"Our militarism budget is out of control," a coalition of 61 advocacy groups wrote in a letter (pdf) to senators on Monday. "In 2019, the United States spent more money on our military than the next nine countries combined. The Department of Defense's budget eclipses that of federal courts, education, the State Department, local economic development, public health, and environmental protection combined, yet the Pentagon is incapable of passing a basic audit."

"Millions have lost their jobs and access to healthcare as the novel coronavirus pandemic rages on. The current moment should force us to confront the reality that, for too long, we have invested in the wrong priorities."

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) currently under consideration in the Senate calls for a $740.5 billion military budget for fiscal year 2021. Last week, Sanders and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) unveiled an amendment that would reduce the proposed outlay by 10% and use the savings to "create a federal grant program to fund healthcare, housing, childcare, and educational opportunities for cities and towns experiencing a poverty rate of 25% or more."

Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) have introduced a companion amendment in the House. Lee has also introduced a resolution proposing up to $350 billion in cuts to the Pentagon budget by closing U.S. military bases overseas, ending funding for ongoing wars, and slashing private service contracting.

Defund the Pentagon budget. — Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) June 25, 2020

The coalition of progressive advocacy groups—which includes Public Citizen, RootsAction, CodePink, and Win Without War—wrote Monday that "common-sense steps" like "eliminating redundant and unusable weapons systems, ending wars, ceasing reliance on expensive contractors, and rejecting new nuclear weapons development" would "allow us to properly focus our investments on our most urgent and pressing human needs."

"The jarring recent images of police with weapons of war in our streets is a stark reminder of how militarism and white supremacy drive misplaced spending priorities both at home and abroad," the groups wrote. "Meanwhile, all over the country, millions have lost their jobs and access to healthcare as the novel coronavirus pandemic rages on. The current moment should force us to confront the reality that, for too long, we have invested in the wrong priorities, the wrong tools, and the wrong solutions."

In a virtual "Putting People Over Pentagon" town hall Monday night, some of the organizations behind the letter joined progressive lawmakers to discuss the urgent need to reduce America's bloated military budget and invest in key domestic priorities.

"This 10% cut is eminently doable and reasonable," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said during the event. "But it's not going to be easy... As progressives, it is our job to redefine and reimagine what it is to be strong. Strong means an end to endless wars and a return to robust diplomacy and international coalition building."

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— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) June 29, 2020