DISARM/END WARS Committee: June is the time to influence your Congressional Reps to vote AGAINST the NDAA

By Cherrill Spencer and Ellen Thomas

June 2022

Every year the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is debated in the House and Senate Armed Services Sub-Committees, and the language of their amendments to the budget the President sent them sets military policy and the maximum dollar amounts that can be spent on a multitude of “defense” projects.

The 2023 NDAA is being developed between June 6^th and mid-July, so now is the time to write to your Representative and Senators to tell them the NDAA budget is much too large, and you want them to vote against the NDAA and substantially cut military spending.

This chart shows the Federal budget- setting process. (Photo credit: Cherrill Spencer has added to a National Priorities Project chart.)

Please contact your members of Congress RIGHT AWAY about the NDAA

The total discretionary spending in the President’s federal budget request for the 2023 fiscal year is $1.6 trillion, of which $813 billion is assigned to defense costs and $787 billion is assigned to all other non-defense spending.  This outrageous budget request once again prioritizes violence, the military and war over peace and human needs. But more spending on militarism can’t address the nation’s or the world’s problems.

We are asking our WILPF members to write to their Congressional Representative and Senators to press for reductions in defense spending during the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) discussions, and to vote against the NDAA when it comes to the full House and Senate’s vote.  Please write before June 30^th for the most effect.

Here are some sample sentences you can choose from to put in your letter:

• As your constituent, I’m reaching out to ask that you vote NO on the outrageous $813 billion National Defense Authorization Act and commit to fully funding healthcare, education, and green jobs!
• The NDAA prioritizes military force over diplomacy by funding $15 for the military for every $1 for diplomacy and non-military aid. It will be diplomacy that ends the terrible Russia-Ukraine war, not more and more weapons being given to Ukraine.
• The Pentagon emits more greenhouse gas pollution than up to 140 nations. We cannot address a problem like climate change, which requires global cooperation, by continuing to fund destructive U.S. militarism at the expense of people and the planet. Please help lift the carbon BOOTPRINT of the US armed services off our necks!
• We should be reducing our reliance on nuclear weapons, not spending money to refurbish Cold War relics such as the B83 nuclear bomb.
• Instead of spending $7.5B on our military bases in Germany I’d rather $3.5B be allocated to Medicare hearing benefits.
• A lot more people would benefit from $10B spent on a better immigration system than the $12B more to be wasted on the unreliable F35 airplane.
• Now is the time to listen to the needs of your constituents, not military contractors and corporate donors who make a killing on killing.

Thank you for contacting your Representative and Senators about the NDAA by email, a letter, or phone call to their local and national offices.  Please send a copy of your letters, and any replies, to disarmchair@wilpfus.org.

Background Statement on the Russia-Ukraine (USA) War

Back on March 1^st, WILPF US issued a public statement on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia which is posted on our website. Members of the DISARM /End War Committee have also written, for WILPFers’ and the public’s reflection, an up to date background informational statement and analysis with regard to “the Ukraine crisis” between the Russian Federation (“Russia”) and the United States of America (“USA”).  You can find the link to that background statement following the March 1 statement — near the bottom of this webpage.