WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Joe Biden should decrease the Pentagon topline in his forthcoming FY 23 budget request, Public Citizen and 85 other groups [including Veterans For Peace] said today. Following the president's FY 22 request proposing a substantial military spending increase, Congress proceeded to give the Pentagon an additional $25 billion.
"For those who benefit from the military-industrial complex, no amount is ever enough," the letter warns. "True national security will not be achieved by pouring more money into military might. Rather, the people of this country require serious, non-military investments to be truly secure, such as pandemic relief, jobs, healthcare, and climate crisis solutions."
In the 2022 budget cycle, three quarters of a trillion dollars slid through Congress with minimal resistance, while the same lawmakers penny-pinched over items like paid family leave, school lunches, free community college, and dental care to seniors. Every dollar thrown at the Pentagon – the only department that has never passed an audit – is a dollar not spent on people who need it most, the letter notes.
"Presidential leadership is desperately needed at this moment if we are to change course. We urge you to right-size the Pentagon budget this year by lowering the amount of military spending in your Fiscal Year 2023 budget request," the letter concludes.