John,

A major vote could happen this Wednesday that would dramatically change Pentagon and military contractors spending.

The House Armed Services Committee could take up a vote to remove the requirement of Unfunded Priorities Lists (UPL) for the Department of Defense. Signed into law in 2017, leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and more 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.¹

This year's UPLs are estimated to cost well over $25 billion—that’s on top of the proposed $895 billion overall defense budget.²

This obscene Pentagon spending has to stop. Especially when roughly half goes to price-gouging military contractors.³

There always seems to be enough money to fund the military, but never nearly enough to fund nutrition and housing programs, early childhood education, or heating and cooling assistance for people with low incomes. Congress needs to start putting people first, not military contractors.

Donate $5 to power our work to get rid of the Unfunded Priorities List and invest in our communities and our future.

While this Wednesday, we anticipate the House Armed Services Committee to consider an amendment to be introduced to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to eliminate UPLs, there is also bipartisan legislation that would do the same thing. The Streamline Pentagon Spending Act (H.R.4740) would repeal the annual mandate for these wish lists. This bill is a crucial step toward limiting excessive military spending and the undue influence of Pentagon contractors.

The Department of Defense is the only federal agency that has never passed a complete financial audit. In fact, since 1990 the DoD has been on the Government Accountability Office’s list of high-risk areas “needing urgent attention and fundamental transformation to ensure that they function in the most economical, efficient, and effective manners possible.”⁴

Instead of sending an additional $25 billion to the Pentagon, we should be investing that revenue in critical human needs programs that low-income communities rely on, leading us on the path to reduce homelessness, food insecurity, and close education gaps—priorities that would have positive effects for generations to come.

Donate $5 today to power our efforts to demand Congress rein in wasteful Pentagon spending by rejecting additional funding for the Pentagon’s Unfunded Priorities List, and instead invest that money in people and communities.

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Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017
² H.R. 8070—SERVICEMEMBER QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENT AND NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025
³ How the Pentagon falls victim to price gouging by military contractors
⁴DOD's High-Risk Areas: High-Level Commitment and Oversight Needed for DOD Supply Chain Plan to Succeed