Statement: HASC Vote to Boost Pentagon Budget is Shameful. The House Must Reject It.
Last Updated on September 10, 2021.
WASHINGTON — Win Without War Senior Washington Director Erica Fein released the following statement regarding the House Armed Service Committee’s (HASC’s) vote to adopt an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act that would increase the Pentagon budget by $37 billion from the year prior:
“Today, the House Armed Services Committee voted to put arms dealer profits before the needs of everyday people. Let’s not mince words: every Congressperson who voted for this should be ashamed.
“Right now, people around the country are struggling to survive in the middle of a pandemic that has already taken the lives of millions. Right now, families are being thrown out of their homes because they can’t afford rent. Right now, lives are being upturned in Louisiana, California, Tennessee, and beyond by the devastating effects of climate change. In the midst of all of this, HASC chose to spend tens of billions of dollars inflating the already bloated Pentagon budget and lining the pockets of wealthy arms makers at the expense of working families.
“It is astonishing that now, of all times, when we should be continuing to end our endless wars, HASC is doubling down on the same approach to national security we’ve seen fail for decades.
“We urge the full House to reject this dangerous Pentagon giveaway when it considers the NDAA later this month.”
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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for progressive foreign policy in the United States.
September 1, 2021