Skip navigation
CODEPINK
    • ACTION ALERT: Check out our activities for the Week of March 27, 2023
    • ACTION ALERT: Check out our activities for the Week of March 20, 2023
  • Codepink Store
  • Donate
  • Get Involved
  • Events
  • Act Now
    Ukraine Book Tour CODEPINK Congress Action Alerts Follow CODEPINK Volunteer: Be a Peacemaker Donate to CODEPINK Recommended Movies Recommended Books
  • Issues & Campaigns
  • Pink Updates (current)
    Last Week at CODEPINK Action Alerts PINK Tank ~ Blog CODEPINK Radio CODEPINK Webinars Press Releases In the News Local Peace Economy Daily Blogs from Iran
  • About
    Founders, Staff & Community What is CODEPINK Jobs and Internships CODEPINK's Speakers Bureau CODEPINK Advisory Board Our Allies CODEPINK Logo In Memory Contact Us + View all About
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • LinkedIn
  1. HOME
  2. PRESS RELEASES

Fund Communities, Not War!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Feb 22, 2023

Media Contact: Melissa Garriga [email protected]

Fund Communities, Not War! Demand Activists

CODEPINK Tells Congress To Cut The Pentagon Budget

WASHINGTON – After the People Over Pentagon Act was re-introduced by Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), CODEPINK and other allies dropped a banner inside the House of Representatives Cannon Building rotunda that reads, FUND COMMUNITIES, NOT WAR.” 

The bill introduced would cut $100 billion from the well-over three-quarters-of-a-trillion dollar Pentagon budget, reducing waste and redirecting this funding to other priorities. The agency’s budget in Fiscal Year 2023 is a whopping $858 billion. Despite never passing an audit, the Pentagon often receives tens of billions of additional dollars from Congress in each budget cycle.

“Cutting $100 billion of the Pentagon budget is a start in reallocating funds that go to military contractors to further destroy people and the planet instead of prioritizing the needs of the people to address true national security that includes healthcare, housing, clean water, quality food, living wages, and climate justice.” said Olivia DiNucci, CODEPINK organizer. 

According to the National Priorities Project, if reallocated away from the Pentagon, $100 billion could 

  • Power every household in the United States with solar energy
  • Hire one million elementary school teachers amid a worsening teacher shortage
  • Provide free tuition for 2 out of 3 public college students in the U.S.
  • Send every household in the U.S. a $700 check to help offset effects of inflation
  • Hire 890,000 Registered Nurses to address shortages
  • Cover medical care for 7 million veterans
  • Triple current enrollment in Head Start, from 1 million children and families to 3 million

China and Russia are no justification for further increasing the bloated military budget, despite fear-mongering and an intense national focus on outspending adversaries. Already, Russia’s military budget is only 1/10 the size of the U.S. military budget, and the U.S. spends two and a half times as much as China does on its military.

It is time to admit we are investing in the wrong priorities, and that the primary challenges we face can not be defeated through military might. The climate crisis, rising inequality, systemic racism, violent nationalism, and more are driving insecurity, not “insufficient” military spending. The Pentagon’s budget exceeds those of the next ten largest cabinet agencies combined. It is time to choose people and the planet over the Pentagon. 

###

Continue Reading

Funding the F-35 Is a War Crime

CODEPINK Blocked Shift Change at Madison Air Base

CODEPINK Announces BlackRock Resolution

“There’s nothing feminist about the F-35!”

Show all posts

Be the first to comment


Sign in with

Facebook Twitter

Or sign in with email

    or Create an account


    Create an account

      or Sign in with email
      Please check your e-mail for a link to activate your account.
      CODEPINK - Women for Peace
      seach
      • EVENTS
      • ACT NOW
      • UKRAINE BOOK TOUR
      • CODEPINK CONGRESS
      • ACTION ALERTS
      • FOLLOW CODEPINK
      • VOLUNTEER: BE A PEACEMAKER
      • DONATE TO CODEPINK
      • RECOMMENDED MOVIES
      • RECOMMENDED BOOKS
      • ISSUES & CAMPAIGNS
      • DIVEST FROM THE WAR MACHINE
      • PALESTINE
      • ACCOUNTABILITY: EXPOSING WAR CRIMES
      • IRAN
      • SAUDI ARABIA
      • LATIN AMERICA
      • THE PEACE COLLECTIVE
      • THE FEMINIST FOREIGN POLICY PROJECT
      • CUT THE PENTAGON
      • PINK UPDATES
      • LAST WEEK AT CODEPINK
      • ACTION ALERTS
      • PINK TANK ~ BLOG
      • CODEPINK RADIO
      • CODEPINK WEBINARS
      • PRESS RELEASES
      • IN THE NEWS
      • LOCAL PEACE ECONOMY DAILY
      • BLOGS FROM IRAN
      • ABOUT
      • FOUNDERS, STAFF & COMMUNITY
      • WHAT IS CODEPINK
      • JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS
      • CODEPINK'S SPEAKERS BUREAU
      • CODEPINK ADVISORY BOARD
      • OUR ALLIES
      • CODEPINK LOGO
      • IN MEMORY
      • CONTACT US
      • CODEPINK STORE
      © 2023 CODEPINK | All Rights Reserved | Created by Code Nation on NationBuilder