{"id":236115,"date":"2023-05-29T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=236115"},"modified":"2023-05-26T06:31:34","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T05:31:34","slug":"usa-1-1-trillion-or-62-of-the-federal-budget-spent-on-militarism-and-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/05\/usa-1-1-trillion-or-62-of-the-federal-budget-spent-on-militarism-and-war\/","title":{"rendered":"USA: $1.1 Trillion \u2013 or 62% \u2013 of the Federal Budget Spent on Militarism and War"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>May 24, 2023 &#8211; <em>\u201cWhen we invest so heavily in militarism at home and abroad, we deprive our own communities and people of solutions to problems that pose immediate security threats.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/usa-Warfare-State-2023-logo-pentagon.webp\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-236116\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/usa-Warfare-State-2023-logo-pentagon-1024x640.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/usa-Warfare-State-2023-logo-pentagon-1024x640.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/usa-Warfare-State-2023-logo-pentagon-300x188.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/usa-Warfare-State-2023-logo-pentagon-768x480.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/usa-Warfare-State-2023-logo-pentagon.webp 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On May 24, the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies released a critical new analysis of the militarized budget in the United States, \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ips-dc.org\/report-warfare-state-how-funding-militarism-compromises-welfare\" ><b>The Warfare State: How Funding for Militarism Compromises our Welfare<\/b><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ips-dc.org\/report-warfare-state-how-funding-militarism-compromises-welfare\" >report<\/a> found that this past year, out of a $1.8 trillion federal discretionary budget, the U.S. spent a staggering <b>$1.1 trillion \u2013 or 62% \u2013 <\/b>of that budget on militarism and war.<\/p>\n<p>Threats to cut spending for vital domestic programs have featured prominently in the debt ceiling debate in recent weeks, but spending on militarism has been almost entirely exempt from the discussion. Meanwhile, clawing back failed military, homeland security and law enforcement spending could instead fund programs and measures to address the true needs of American communities.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ips-dc.org\/report-warfare-state-how-funding-militarism-compromises-welfare\" >Read the full analysis HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><b>Key findings:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\u00a0In FY 2023, out of a $1.8 trillion federal discretionary budget, <b>$1.1 trillion \u2013 or 62% \u2013 <\/b>was for militarized programs that use violence or the threat of violence or imprisonment, including war and weapons, law enforcement and mass incarceration, and detention and deportation.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Less than $2 out of every $5 in federal discretionary spending<\/b> was available to fund investment in people and communities, including primary and secondary public education, housing programs, child care programs, federal disaster relief, environmental programs, and scientific research.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">The U.S. spent <b>$16<\/b> on the military and war for <b>every $1<\/b> that was spent on diplomacy and humanitarian foreign aid. The vast majority of militarized spending was for weapons, war and the Pentagon, at <b>$920 billion<\/b>. Only <b>$56 billion<\/b> was spent for international affairs, diplomacy, and humanitarian foreign aid.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">The U.S. federal budget allocated <b>twice as much for federal law enforcement <\/b>($31 billion) as for child care and early childhood education program<b>s<\/b>.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Federal spending on <b>nuclear weapons<\/b> ($32 billion) was <b>four times spending on substance abuse and mental health programs<\/b> ($7.5 billion), even as opioid use remains a major cause of death.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">The U.S. spent <b>$51.1 billion<\/b> for homeland security, approximately half of which goes to ICE ($8.8 billion) and CBP ($17.4 billion), two punitive border enforcement agencies that separate families and terrorize immigrant communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWhen we invest so heavily in militarism at home and abroad, we deprive our own communities and people of solutions to problems that pose immediate security threats,\u201d\u00a0 said <strong>co-author <\/strong><b>Lindsay Koshgarian, Program Director of the National Priorities Project. <\/b>\u201cWe underfund programs to end poverty, provide affordable housing, bolster public education, and protect clean air and water at our peril. Spending on militarism takes up the majority of the federal discretionary budget, and it has grown faster than all other spending. If we keep up these patterns, we are hurtling toward a future where we can\u2019t afford the basics of a civilized society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe keep hearing that our government can\u2019t afford nice things \u2014 or necessary things \u2014 for everyone. And yet militarized spending in the US has almost doubled over the past two decades, and the military budget is now approaching its highest point since World War II,\u201d said <strong>co-author <\/strong><b>Ashik Siddique, Research Analyst at the National Priorities Project.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll this serves the profits of a wealthy few war profiteers, at everyone else\u2019s expense. Meanwhile, public goods that benefit all of us are under attack. For a fraction of the cost of U.S. militarism since 2001, we could have instead ended homelessness in this country, or invested in a fully renewable national electric grid to help address the climate crisis. A better world is possible, if we build the power we need to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur leaders need to stop putting immigration on the back burner. Tens of billions of dollars is funneled into ICE and CBP every year in an effort to militarize the border, separate families, and detain and deport immigrants and people seeking asylum. People\u2019s lives and well being are at stake here. Immigrant communities are a large makeup of the richness of culture, diversity and the economy of the U.S. and we need to invest in care-based approaches to these communities, such as in rehabilitation and resettlement services and legal pathways to residence and citizenship, instead of turning them away,\u201d said <strong>co-author <\/strong><b>Alliyah Lusuegro, Outreach Coordinator of the National Priorities Project.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Recommendations:<\/b><b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Immediately reduce the budget for the Pentagon and nuclear weapons by $100 billion or more, <\/b>and reinvest the savings in non-militarized discretionary priorities.<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Make any future Pentagon spending increases contingent on the Department of Defense passing an audit.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Increase congressional oversight to make it harder for the U.S. to go to war.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Restructure the country\u2019s immigration system to support robust legal immigration and current undocumented residents, <\/b>and cut spending for structures that are built to deter immigration and deport immigrants, including Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>End federal support for racist and counterproductive carceral and policing practices, including the war on drugs.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ips-dc.org\/report-warfare-state-how-funding-militarism-compromises-welfare\" >Read the full report HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>To speak with any of the co-authors of the report for further interview or comment, please contact IPS Deputy Communications Director Olivia Alperstein at (202) 704-9011 or <a href=\"mailto:olivia@ips-dc.org\">olivia@ips-dc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>About the National Priorities Project<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalpriorities.org\/\" > National Priorities Project<\/a> at the Institute for Policy Studies fights for a federal budget that prioritizes peace, economic opportunity and shared prosperity for all. The National Priorities Project is the only nonprofit, non-partisan federal budget research program in the nation with the mission to make the federal budget accessible to the American public.<\/p>\n<p><b>______________________________________<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>For sixty years, the<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ips-dc.org\/\" > I<\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ips-dc.org\/\" >nstitute for Policy Studies<\/a> <em>has served as a leading multi-issue research organization that provides key fact-based support for bold policy solutions to urgent issues from rising inequality to the climate crisis.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ips-dc.org\/new-report-1-1-trillion-or-62-of-the-federal-discretionary-budget-was-spent-on-militarism-and-war-last-year\/\" >Go to Original &#8211; ips-dc.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 24, 2023 &#8211; \u201cWhen we invest so heavily in militarism at home and abroad, we deprive our own communities and people of solutions to problems that pose immediate security threats.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":236116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1817,2462,112,95,70,1594,481],"class_list":["post-236115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-militarism","tag-anti-militarism","tag-military-industrial-media-complex","tag-pentagon","tag-us-military","tag-usa","tag-war-economy","tag-warfare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236115"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236120,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236115\/revisions\/236120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}