Reps. Barbara Lee and Mark Pocan led a group of House Democrats this week in filing amendments that would slash current U.S. military spending by $100 billion and reverse recent efforts to add more money to President Joe Biden’s historically high Pentagon budget request for the coming fiscal year.
The proposed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 were introduced days after lawmakers on the HouseAnd Senate Armed Services Committees — both controlled by Democrats — voted to pile $37 billion and $45 billion, respectively, onto Biden’s March request for $813 billion in military spending.
One of more than 1000 amendments filed to the House version NDAA, Lee Pocan’s proposal for a $100 billion reduction in U.S. defense spending of $782 billion points out a recent Congressional Budget Office study outlining several ways in which Congress could reasonably slice $1 trillion — or 14% — from the Pentagon budget over the next decade.
Lee and Pocan are the co-chairs for the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus. repeatedly attemptedThey have failed to rein in the U.S. defense spending in recent years. blocked by Republicans and members of their own party — some of whom are financed by weapons makers.
The pair was last month introducedlegislation that would take $100 billion out of the U.S. Military budget and redirect it to urgent domestic needs like housing and healthcare.
“For far too long, this country has put profits ahead of its people,” Lee said. “Nowhere is that more apparent than in our Pentagon topline budget. Just last year, key priorities like Build Back Better were left on the negotiating table, while Congress approved a $782 billion defense budget — higher than the military even requested.”
“It is time that we realign our priorities to reflect the urgent needs of communities across this country that are healing from a pandemic, ongoing economic insecurity, and an international energy crisis — none of which will be resolved through greater military spending,” Lee added. “Taking this step to downsize our military budget by $100 billion will ensure that our national security truly centers on the American people, not weapons industry profits.”
Reps. Peter DeFazio, Bonnie Watson Coleman (D.N.J.), Jared Hufman (D.Calif.), Adriano Espaillat and Jared Huffman are supporting the Lee-Pocan NDAA Amendment to reduce the current military spending by $100 billion.
Lee also introduced an amendment that would repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) Against Iraq, which — following its original passage ahead of the catastrophic Iraq invasion — was used as legal coverTrump and Obama administrations have taken deadly actions overseas.
For instance, in 2020, Trump’s administration invoked the 2002 AUMF to claim that it was authorized to assassinate Iranian General Qasem SOleimani. This decision almost sparked a full-blown conflict between the U.S.A. and Iran.
