The United States spends more than $700 billion a year on the military.

For every $1,000 we give the Pentagon, how much do you think we give the CDC to target new infectious diseases like COVID-19?

One dollar.

So here we are, utterly unprepared for one of the gravest national security threats in memory — a threat we can’t defeat with machine guns, tanks, jet fighters, or nuclear warheads.

The coronavirus emergency is a wake-up call for the long overdue imperative of shifting spending away from the Pentagon and investing instead in priority human needs.

In the next few weeks, the House and Senate will consider proposals to cut the Pentagon budget by 10% and redirect the money to public health and anti-poverty programs.

These proposals will be introduced by Representatives Barbara Lee (California) and Mark Pocan (Wisconsin) in the House, and by Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont) in the Senate, where Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already indicated his support.

By all rights, the Pentagon budget — which is up more than $120 billion just since Trump took office — should be cut by a lot more than 10%.

But 10% is a strategic choice: It’s enough to be real, but it’s not so much that anyone can reasonably say our national security would be at risk.

The fact is, the U.S. spends more on the military than the next NINE highest-spending countries combined.

And there are hundreds of billions in easily identifiable cuts in the bloated Pentagon budget.

It’s time we invested in the right things to keep our country safe and strong.

Tell Congress:

Cut the Pentagon budget by 10% and use that money to keep Americans safe and to reduce wealth inequality.

Add your name.

Thanks for taking action.

In unity,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

P.S. Public Citizen — like many nonprofits and other small businesses — is feeling the financial strain of the coronavirus emergency. If you can, please consider donating to support the critical work we’re doing together. Thank you.
 
 
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