Federal budget priorities on the defensive?

In session
June 2004

Federal budget priorities on the defensive?
Just say 'no' to mini-nukes and missile shield

Federal budget priorities on the defensive?
A legislative action alert from the Friends Committee on National Legislation: The price of gasoline and U.S. military spending are both rising rapidly for similar reasons: increasing U.S. and global dependence on oil from politically unstable regions of the world.

Next week (week of June 7), the Senate is expected to continue debate on its $447 billion military ("defense") authorization bill (S 2400), and the House Appropriations Committee is expected to begin debate on its $416 billion Department of Defense appropriations bill, with House floor debate soon to follow. Both bills include $25 billion in additional funds to pay for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, pragmatic and practical policy alternatives to war and oil dependence are being ignored and underfunded, and most other non-military and non-homeland security discretionary programs are coming under increasing budgetary pressure.

ACTION 1: Please contact your representative and senators today. Urge them to speak out against this wasteful, misdirection of the national treasure. Ask them to help shift federal budget priorities away from such an imbalanced over-dependence on military solutions to foreign policy challenges. Urge them to shift funding from the military toward more peaceful and productive purposes such as reducing U.S. oil dependence and expanding U.S. diplomacy, non-proliferation programs, international cooperation, adherence to and the advancement of international law, human development assistance, and international cultural, scientific, and educational exchange.

IT IS EASY TO CONTACT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS: Start with the sample letter posted in FCNL's Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then e-mail or fax your message directly from the site. You can also print it out and mail it. To view the sample letter, click here, then enter your ZIP code and click Go in the Take Action Now box.

ACTION 2: If you feel your members of Congress have been unresponsive on this issue in the past, try a different approach: write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Challenge your members' views publically (mention their name) and let your community know of your concern.

IT IS EASY TO SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Start with the sample letter posted in FCNL's Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then email or fax your message directly from the site. You can also print it out and mail it. To view a sample letter to the media, click here, then enter your ZIP code and click Go in the Take Action Now box.

BACKGROUND: If passed as drafted, the $447 billion Senate military ("defense") authorization bill (S 2400) would authorize increasing the U.S. force level by 30,000 soldiers over the next four years, provide $25 billion for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (even more is expected to be requested after the elections), spend $10.2 billion to build and deploy a ballistic missile shield that has yet to be fully tested, and fund research of new nuclear weapons, among other things. This bill AUTHORIZES the appropriations committee to allocate funds for military programs and activities. Many amendments are still pending on these issues as the Senate continues floor debate.

The $316 billion House military appropriations bill to fund the Department of Defense includes $25 billion for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, $10.2 billion for the missile shield, more than $10 billion for new fighter planes, and more than $4 billion for new battleships and submarines. This bill would ALLOCATE funds for programs and activities that have been authorized in the military authorization bill.

If the President's fiscal year 2005 (FY05) military spending request is approved by Congress (which these bills would do), the military budget will increase seven percent over FY04 levels (not including the additional $25 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan).

Just say 'no' to mini-nukes and missile shield
In early June, the Senate will complete its work on the annual military ("defense") authorization bill. During the floor debate there will be amendments to cut funds from new nuclear weapons and to develop and deploy a ballistic missile shield.

Continuing its drive to develop new, more usable nuclear weapons, the Bush Administration has requested increased funding for research on new nuclear weapons. In its request to Congress for fiscal year 2005 (FY05), the Administration requested $27.6 million to work on the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP), or nuclear "bunker buster," and $9 million for the Advanced Concepts Initiatives, which could be used to develop low-yield nuclear weapons. This request comes at a time when the Administration is struggling to dissuade Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear weapons of their own. This "do what I say, not what I do" attitude is not helping U.S. nonproliferation efforts and is making the world a more dangerous place.

In addition to funds for new nuclear weapons, the Bush Administration has asked Congress for an additional $10.2 billion for FY05 in order to continue developing and deploying a ballistic missile shield. The Administration is determined to begin deploying a limited shield by September 2004, even though the system has yet to be tested or proven effective. This reckless effort to forge ahead may have a negative impact on our strategic relationships with Russia and China. It comes despite repeated test failures, and the unlikely threat of a long-range missile attack on the U.S. More importantly, wasting money on a provocative, untested missile shield diverts scarce resources from other, far more urgent budget priorities, which could advance human security for the country and world in the years ahead.

ACTION: Call, fax or email your senators. Urge them to support the Kennedy-Feinstein amendment to cut funds for new nuclear weapons and amendments to cut funds for missile defense from the defense authorization bill (S 2400). Tell them that these programs will not bring security. In fact, they will make the world less secure. Urge them to shift funding away from new nuclear weapons and the missile shield to initiatives that support international arms control and disarmament or address real human security concerns such as affordable housing, halting the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and protecting the environment.

CONTACTING YOUR SENATORS IS EASY: Start with the sample letter posted in our Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then fax or email your message directly from our site. To view the sample letter, click here, then enter your zip code and click "Go" in the "Take Action Now" box.

Background information on new nuclear weapons.

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