The Afghanistan War ended - but this year, Biden is asking for more money for war than ever before. We need to demand a climate justice-oriented peace dividend for the people, planet, and future! Sign below to tell Biden we need a peace dividend now!
Dear President Biden -
We need peace!
The Afghanistan War ended almost a year ago, in August 2021. Despite that, this year’s military budget was higher than last year’s; and the amount you have requested for FY 2023 is a record high. I am writing to request a reduction in your Pentagon topline budget, with a significant amount allocated towards a climate justice peace dividend.
A peace dividend is when a country shifts federal funding from war to alternative economic and social programs after conflict ends. After the Cold War in the 1990s, President Clinton promised to move defense funds into a peace dividend for workers, communities, and non-defense industries. You could follow in this powerful tradition of investing in local communities, not in war profiteers.
The end of a war should represent a time of decreased military spending and increased spending on our communities. This is more true now than ever before, as the climate crisis worsens and Americans continue to struggle with inflation and debt. Instead, even though the Afghanistan War ended last year, social spending decreased from FY2021 to FY2022, and we are turning to oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia to fulfill our reliance on fossil fuels. Now is the time to institute a climate justice-oriented peace dividend, and move war funding to environmental and social programs.
I want to thank you for invoking the Defense Production Act to support the development of our domestic green energy industry. I believe that this can be your administration’s first step in treating climate change with necessary urgency and building a robust, local, job-providing green economy.
Sincerely,