John,

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” — President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Chance for Peace”¹

At a time when many are living paycheck-to-paycheck, facing challenges of putting food on the table and managing housing costs, we need to invest money in communities, not giveaways to corporate military contractors. And, we’ve got a chance next week to start to rein in out-of-control spending by stopping the “wish list” from the Pentagon and military contractors so we can invest in our communities.

There is an important first step Congress should take to rein in Pentagon/military contractor spending―Congress should eliminate the Unfunded Priorities List. Next week, the House Armed Services Committee may consider a proposal to remove the requirement for these wish lists from the Department of Defense (DoD).

Send a message to Congress telling them to reject Pentagon spending increases―and start by getting rid of the law requiring military branches to send Congress “wish lists” beyond their own annual budget requests.

These wish lists are in the statutorily required “Unfunded Priorities List” from the Department of Defense (DoD). Signed into law in 2017, leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, Missile Defense Agency, 11 combatant commands, and the National Nuclear Security Administration are legally required to outline programs and activities they would fund if they had additional money and resources beyond what their own administration has proposed in its annual budget.² Already, President Biden’s proposed FY2025 budget calls for a defense budget of $895 billion―which is in keeping with the debt ceiling limit deal he made with congressional Republicans.³

It’s now being reported that talks are going on in Congress about increasing Pentagon spending even more.⁴ This year the list is estimated at well over $25 billion; that’s on top of the FY25 Pentagon budget request of $895.2 billion.

We have thrown trillions of dollars at the Pentagon with DoD’s corporate, price-gouging contractors getting one-third of its budget for more than two decades.⁵ Their sky-high profits undermine our security by preventing us from investing enough in the shared prosperity that comes from more housing, climate and public health protections, ending hunger, more education, and jobs.

Curbing excessive Pentagon spending will not be easy, especially with military contractors spending over $138 million on lobbying just last year.⁶ But we can start with one practical step―ending the required wish list.

Congress needs to hear from you today: Tell them to oppose the Department of Defense’s Unfunded Priorities List and invest that money in vulnerable communities.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ Address "The Chance for Peace" Delivered Before the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
² NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017
³ Pentagon slashes weapons programs to stay under debt deal
⁴ What spending caps? Senators open to boosting the Pentagon’s budget
⁵ 20 Years of War: A Costs of War Research Series
⁶ Defense Lobbying in 2023 - Open Secrets