The Pentagon’s budget for next year is now in the hands of the Senate after the House approved over three-quarters of a trillion dollars in military spending last night.
Here’s the actual number: $768,000,000,000.
- It’s staggering how much more the U.S devotes to military spending than other countries. In fact, we spend more than the next 11 countries combined: China, India, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Australia.
- $768 billion is *more than four times* what President Biden’s Build Back Better plan would cost per year. Yet politicians in D.C. — from both major parties — say we can’t afford key elements of that plan, like paid family leave, free community college, or even basic dental care for seniors.
- And it’s $25 billion more than the Biden administration even asked for. As Public Citizen has calculated, $25 billion is the cost of producing enough vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Our country has (so far) refused to make that crucial investment, but Congress may give that exact amount to the Pentagon *over and above* what the White House requested.
More tanks will not help make life easier for everyday Americans.
More fighter jets will not end the coronavirus emergency in America or around the world.
More nuclear missiles will not save humanity from the existential threat of catastrophic climate change.
The military-industrial complex is a bloated, insatiable, stampeding dinosaur.
Enough is enough.
Thanks for taking action.
For progress,
- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
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