FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JAN 11, 2023
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
Shepherding an Immoral Budget: CODEPINK disrupts Rep. Adam Smith at Brookings Defense Policy Talk
“The two greatest threats to national security are nuclear war and the climate crisis.”
WASHINGTON D.C. CODEPINK took advantage of a Brookings Institute “defense policy” talk with Rep. Adam Smith on Wednesday to push for negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine and express frustration on behalf of millions of Americans who want to see the United States invest more in climate justice and social programs instead of war.
Following a presentation about the need to continually strengthen our military by Rep. Adam Smith, former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Medea Benjamin and Olivia DiNucci took the stage to correct the record. Benjamin called out Democrats and Republicans for pushing us into this further into the war in Ukraine, taking us to the brink of nuclear war.
“The Democrats have to get back on board of calling for negotiations and not leave that to the extreme right of the Republican Party, like Marjorie Taylor Greene. They shouldn't be the ones with the rational voice in all of this calling for negotiations. Democrats have to step forward, have to put the pressure on the Biden administration and say we need negotiations, not more war,” she said. “Security is addressing the climate crisis, getting people housed and not pouring $880 billion dollars into war, " said Olivia DiNucci.
While Rep. Smith has never met a defense budget worth cutting, Brookings had no problem cutting the webinar stream when CODEPINK activists called out the immorality of a nearly trillion dollar budget for death and destruction of people and the planet.
The recent passage of the NDAA delivers $858 billion to the Pentagon - the largest institutional consumer of oil and emitter of greenhouse gasses - ensuring unlimited funding for the escalation and provocation of wars and militarism across the globe. Elected officials like Representative Smith continue to ignore the real possibility of a nuclear war and the existential threat of climate chaos, and instead continue to throw more money into death machines. CODEPINK will continue to protest, disrupt, organize and lobby until the United States government stops funding the destructive war economy and starts funding a sustainable peace economy.
See full video posted by CSPAN here.
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