Team, in a few moments, I will ask you to pitch in ahead of our critical FEC deadline coming up on Thursday. But before I do, I wanted to get you up to speed on what has been happening in Congress this week.

The COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed what our movement has known for too long: Our country's spending priorities are upside down.

We are more than nine months into a global pandemic. More than 300,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. Millions have lost their jobs and their health care. Families are being evicted as they're unable to pay the rent, keep the heat on, and put food on the table.

And yet, I was just asked to vote for a bloated Pentagon budget for the THIRD time this year. $2,000 survival checks and relief that matches the scale of this crisis is apparently too much for many of my colleagues — but $740 BILLION for war is not? I voted no. Again.

To responsibly chip away at this unconscionable and unnecessary defense spending, I helped introduce an amendment that would cut the Pentagon's budget by 10 percent because there are so many ways we could invest that $74 billion — which happens to be greater than the budgets of the CDC, EPA, Department of Housing, and National Parks Services combined — into our communities.

While the amendment failed to make the final bill, it received more votes than ever before. The momentum is on our side. And with a new White House and what I hope is a new majority in the Senate come next month, we have a real opportunity to fight for budgets that actually put the needs of people first, not corporate special interests. Instead of lining the pockets of defense contractors, we can finally put money in the pockets of people across America so they can withstand this devastating crisis.

But it's going to take all of us demanding that Congress invests in people and communities across America instead of investing in going to war all around the world. Can you make a contribution toward our FEC deadline goal of $30,000 right now to help us continue organizing for a government that works for everyone? It's time that we put people first.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

Thank you for fighting alongside me and for making our movement possible,

Pramila