Dear President Biden and Members of the United States Congress,

Budgets like the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act/Pentagon Budget) are moral documents. We, the undersigned, ask you to reduce Pentagon spending to address issues that affect the people such as: 

• 550,000+ unhoused people in the U.S.
• 1 in 10 adults in “significant” medical debt
• $195 billion in medical debt held by individuals
• 16.9 % child poverty rate
• 63% of people in the US living paycheck to paycheck 

While constituents live paycheck to paycheck and drown in debt, how do you justify giving over $850 billion to the Pentagon, when over half of that money will go directly to private companies? Can you justify giving almost a trillion dollars to a department that hasn't passed an audit? 

As of 2016, nearly a quarter of every tax dollar paid went to military and Pentagon spending. Military contractors pay an average of less than half the federal corporate tax rate. These companies also receive funds from the government through grants, subsidies, and loans. Between one-quarter and one-third of federal indebtedness is due to war spending. While occupying a massive portion of the United States annual budget, military spending puts us in a dire economic situation. 

If we move the money to life affirming programs such as education, healthcare, and housing not only will standard of living increase in the U.S., but we could also create many more meaningful jobs. For the same amount of money spent on clean energy and healthcare, 50% more jobs would be created; and twice as many jobs would be created in education investments. 

We demand a reduction of Pentagon spending and a reinvestment into the people and peace!

Sincerely,