John,

The United States spends over $700 billion dollars (yes, that’s billion with a “B”) on the Pentagon every year.

That’s more than 53% of the discretionary budget. It’s more than we spend on education, federal courts, affordable housing, green energy, and public health combined.

Can you imagine what we could do with those funds if we reinvested them in people instead?

Right now, progressive champions in Congress are trying to do just that. U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are joining U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) to push a 10% cut to the Pentagon budget to reinvest in other domestic and human needs.

We have a chance right now to defund the military and invest in our communities, but it can’t happen without your help.

Email your Senator and Representative today and urge them to vote “yes” on the new amendment to cut 10% of the Pentagon budget.

10% of next year’s proposed military spending is $74 billion — a pittance to the Pentagon, but that money could make a huge difference elsewhere.

$74 billion could fund 900,000 new teaching positions to reduce class sizes, create jobs, and make school — real school, not Zoom school — much safer during the coronavirus. 

$74 billion could house every family and individual who experienced homelessness in 2019, with many billions to spare for the families likely to soon join their ranks without government help.

You can play around with NPP’s Trade-Offs calculator to see just how much your state or local government could do with just 10% of the 2019 military budget. 

Congress will vote on the amendment next week, so now is our time to make a difference.

If there was ever a time to look after our neighbors and say no to military contractor greed, it’s now.

Email your representatives, and then feel free to contact them by phone, or on Facebook or Twitter, with talking points from this social media guide.

It’s time to send a message to the military-industrial complex: Tanks and ships can’t save us from our greatest dangers, so let’s pay for the things that can.

With the money we save, we can start to put the world back together again. 

In solidarity,

Lindsay, Ashik, Lorah, and the NPP team at IPS