WAND urges Congressional Leadership against providing additional money to the Pentagon

In a letter to House and Senate leadership, WAND urges against providing additional money to the Pentagon in this fiscal year as Congress focuses on providing urgent and vital relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Pentagon's existing resources are more than enough to respond to the current crisis. There are a number of cost-saving options for the Pentagon and the opportunity to redirect funds towards the government's larger emergency pandemic response. In the short term, savings from decreased operational tempo both in training and overseas operations and in the long term in ending wars, reforming defense contracting, right-sizing military services, scaling back or forgoing the purchase of legacy weapons systems, and closing overseas bases will not only provide critical relief for the pandemic but also future security and stability in the U.S. and abroad. Appropriating a dollar more to the Pentagon in FY 2020 would be throwing good money after bad. We urge you to focus your attention on the national pandemic response and economic relief for people across the United States rather than providing more money for the Pentagon’s already overflowing coffers.

Read the full letter here.