[ "This amendment is crucial as taxpayers and other citizens
remain concerned—and inadequately informed—about the cost to U.S.
taxpayers of the wide range of U.S. military activities abroad.]
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20 GROUPS DEMAND PASSAGE OF BOWMAN AMENDMENT TO DISCLOSE COST OF US
MILITARY FOOTPRINT  
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Jessica Corbett
August 28, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "This amendment is crucial as taxpayers and other citizens remain
concerned—and inadequately informed—about the cost to U.S.
taxpayers of the wide range of U.S. military activities abroad. _

U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on July
19, 2022. , Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Image

 

U.S. lawmakers remain on August recess but 20 advocacy groups on
Monday wrote to top Democrats and Republicans on key congressional
panels to demand passage of "commonsense, noncontroversial"
legislation to provide the public with greater transparency on U.S.
military spending.

When members of Congress return to Capitol Hill next month, they will
continue reconciling
[[link removed]] the
differences between the House and Senate versions of the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024—a process
that involves intense disagreements over right-wing policies that
Republicans want to
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stuff into the $886 billion package.

The advocacy organizations—including Amnesty International
[[link removed]] USA, Demand
Progress Action, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Just
Foreign Policy, Peace Action, RootsAction.com, Veterans for Peace, and
Win Without War—came together to support an amendment to the NDAA
proposed by Rep. Jamaal Bowman
[[link removed]] (D-N.Y.).

Writing to Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
and Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and House Armed Services
Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Ranking Member Adam Smith
(D-Wash.), the groups explained how Bowman's proposal has its roots in
the 2015 Cost of War Act led by former Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.).

Last year, the late congressman's successor, Rep. Nikema Williams
(D-Ga.), "carried forward this legacy by introducing new Cost of War
legislation expanding the scope of John Lewis' work to include the
cost to U.S. taxpayers for any overseas contingency operations," the
letter notes, arguing that its inclusion
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in a previous NDAA "demonstrates the broad-based support for
accountability and transparency around U.S. defense spending."

For the FY23 NDAA, Bowman introduced "the latest update to John Lewis'
Cost of War legislation," an amendment
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that "requires reporting on a wider range of costs to fully encompass
the U.S. military footprint abroad that is not covered by the former
two pieces of legislation," the letter details. "This includes the
price of training and assisting partner forces, maintaining overseas
bases, paying contractors who provide goods and services in support of
operations, and all overseas military operations."

Bowman's measure passed
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the House but was ultimately left out of the final NDAA. The groups
behind the letter to panel leaders now hope it will remain included in
the next one, writing that "this amendment is crucial as taxpayers and
other citizens remain concerned—and inadequately informed—about
the cost to U.S. taxpayers of the wide range of U.S. military
activities abroad, including those that fall short of active military
missions such as wars or contingency operations."

"Many Americans want great public scrutiny and debate about the
balance our nation strikes between spending on our military presence
abroad and spending on other domestic priorities," the groups
stressed. "This includes spending on healthcare, education, and
infrastructure, as well as concerns about the rate of taxation or
national debt required to sustain the U.S. overseas presence."

"These debates will only become more relevant as our military budget
approaches the $1 trillion mark," the organizations added, "and it is
important that the American people have the necessary transparency and
data about these costs to engage in our nation's democratic
decision-making process around such questions."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.

 
Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.


 

* Jamaal Bowman
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