THIRTY-SIX GROUPS ASK SUPERCOMMITTEE TO REIN IN EXCESSIVE PENTAGON SPENDING AS PART OF DEFICIT REDUCTION

THIRTY-SIX GROUPS ASK SUPERCOMMITTEE TO REIN IN EXCESSIVE PENTAGON SPENDING AS PART OF DEFICIT REDUCTION 

Joint letter notes that Pentagon budget consumes more than half of nation’s discretionary spending

Washington, D.C. – Thirty-six groups representing a wide variety of interests and causes have asked members of the Supercommittee to take a hard look at Pentagon spending as part of their efforts to recommend deficit reduction of $1.2 to $1.5 trillion dollars.

The letter to Supercommittee members was written by USAction and signed by a number of groups representing labor, religious groups, peace groups, environmental organizations and groups representing human and community needs. For a copy of the letter and a list of signees, please email delliot@usaction.org

The letter notes that defense spending has nearly doubled in the past decade, comprising more than 50 percent of discretionary spending, and more than the military budgets of all of America’s top rivals combined. It quotes House Majority Leader Eric Cantor as saying, “Everything’s got to be on the table. Everyone in this town must go through what people at home are doing – which is doing more with less, and prioritizing what we should be about.”

The letter cites the work of the bipartisan Rivlin-Domenici and Simpson-Bowles commissions, both of which identified up to $1 trillion in savings in the Pentagon budget that can be responsibly achieved.

“The Joint Select Committee has the opportunity to begin a far-sighted process that asks defense to share in discipline and frugality – in a focused and strategic way,” the letter states. “Failing to do so will miss an opportunity to ask the Pentagon to make hard choices, prioritize and become more efficient. And it will likely usher in a day, down the road, where cuts must be made in a non-strategic way.”

USAction has released a Good Jobs for Everyone in America platform which combines robust job creation, responsible revenue raising and reining in Pentagon spending as a way to address the nation’s jobs crisis.

USAction is a federation of 22 state affiliates that organize for a more just America. With our state partners, we build broad coalitions to win progressive campaigns that enrich people’s lives.