{"id":201051,"date":"2021-12-13T12:01:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T12:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=201051"},"modified":"2021-12-09T05:43:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T05:43:26","slug":"reckless-misuse-of-resources-us-house-approves-778-billion-military-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/12\/reckless-misuse-of-resources-us-house-approves-778-billion-military-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Reckless Misuse of Resources’: US House Approves $778 Billion Military Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

“There was no CBO score needed. No concern about the deficit. No mention of inflation,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly in formation during the Huntington Beach Pacific Air Show on October 1, 2021.
(Photo: Nick Ut\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

8 Dec 2021 – <\/em>In bipartisan fashion, the<\/strong> U.S. House of Representatives late Tuesday [7 Dec] passed a sprawling military policy bill that contains nearly twice as much funding on an annual basis as Democrats’ flagship social spending and climate bill.<\/p>\n

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That reality led Stephen Miles, executive director of Win Without War, to slam the $778 billion<\/a> National Defense Authorization Act as “a reckless misuse of resources, a windfall for war profiteers, and proof positive that most in Congress have little concern for the actual security of people in the United States or around the world.”<\/p>\n

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“Cutting the Pentagon\u2019s budget could help fight threats like Covid, climate change, and more.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“Little could be more revealing of our nation’s broken budget priorities,” Miles added, “than the fact that this rubberstamp of three-quarters of a trillion dollars for warmaking was prioritized and will soon pass with bipartisan support, while the Build Back Better Act\u2014which would invest in meeting real human needs\u2014has been watered down and pushed to the back burner.”<\/p>\n

The House passed the NDAA Tuesday night by a vote of 363-70<\/a>, with the measure ultimately receiving more votes from Republicans than Democrats even though the latter control the chamber and led negotiations over the bill. Of the 70 no votes, 51 were Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a tweet<\/a> explaining his vote against the NDAA, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) wrote that “it is astounding how quickly Congress moves weapons but we can’t ensure housing, care, and justice for our veterans, nor invest in robust jobs programs for districts like mine.”<\/p>\n

“There was no CBO score needed,” Bowman added<\/a>, a jab at conservative Democrats who have complained incessantly<\/a> about the size of the Build Back Better Act without raising similar concerns about the bloated military budget.<\/p>\n

“No concern about the deficit,” Bowman continued. “No mention of inflation.”<\/p>\n

The House-passed NDAA includes $25 billion more in spending than President Joe Biden requested<\/a> in his budget blueprint earlier this year. As Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) pointed out<\/a>, it would cost the federal government roughly $22.5 billion to fund 12 weeks of paid family leave for a year.<\/p>\n

According to<\/a> Defense News<\/em>, the legislation in its current form contains “12 F\/A-18 Super Hornets that were not requested; five more Boeing F-15EX jets than the request for 17 total; and 13 ships total\u2014including two attack submarines and two destroyers\u2015for five more than the request.”<\/p>\n

Additionally, as Miles noted, the bill “fails to end U.S. complicity in the war in Yemen, excludes critical measures to rein in out-of-control executive war powers, and doubles down on a dangerous Cold War mindset towards China” with $7.1 billion for the so-called Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which progressives have deemed<\/a> an “anti-China slush fund.”<\/p>\n

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The House just passed a $778 billion Pentagon budget during a pandemic. It\u2019s $37 billion higher than last year\u2019s military budget, which they passed during the same pandemic.<\/p>\n

So much \u201cnational security\u201d spending, so little security to show for it. pic.twitter.com\/YB0SO8BI2l<\/a><\/p>\n

— Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) December 8, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n