20 Organizations Express Continued Disappointment in NDAA Budget Gimmick

Last Updated on December 1, 2016.

 
Dear Senator /Representative,
The recently released conference report for the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize an additional $3.2 billion unrequested by the Pentagon, effectively exceeding the spending limits set in place previously by Congress as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. As organizations representing Americans across the political spectrum, we are writing to voice our disagreement with this tactic.
The very real challenges facing our military are not the result of a lack of funds. They are the result of years of failing to make necessary, tough choices our nation’s security requires. If Congress votes to simply throw additional billions of dollars at this problem by using a budgetary gimmick involving the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, you will do nothing to solve these problems. Rather, you will simply be guaranteeing another year of massive spending at the Pentagon. Refusing to make hard choices and trade-offs does not strengthen our security, it undermines it.
Earlier this year, many of our organizations expressed our opposition to the House Armed Services Committee’s draft NDAA which included an $18 billion gimmick to fund the OCO account above previously agreed upon levels. What was a bad idea at $18 billion is still a bad idea at $3.2 billion. We strongly urge you to scrap any plans to fund the OCO account above the levels set in existing law and finally pursue a path of fiscal responsibility at the Pentagon.
Sincerely,

  • Campaign for Liberty
  • Center for International Policy
  • Coalition to Reduce Spending
  • Council for a Livable World
  • Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
  • FreedomWorks
  • Friends Committee on National Legislation
  • Just Foreign Policy
  • National Priorities Project
  • National Taxpayers Union
  • Peace Action
  • Project on Government Oversight
  • Taxpayers for Common Sense
  • Taxpayers Protection Alliance
  • Taxpayers United of America
  • The Libertarian Institute
  • The London Center
  • United for Peace and Justice
  • Win Without War
  • Women’s Action for New Directions
December 1, 2016