Trump Budget fills Defense Contractors' Coffers at the Expense of Women and Families

Washington, DC - Today, President Donald Trump released his FY2021 Budget Request, “A Budget for America’s Future.” In response, WAND’s Executive Director, Nancy Parrish, released the following statement:

“The Trump administration has shown us how they want to spend American’s hard-earned money: decimating funding for our diplomatic efforts around the globe while increasing spending for weapons systems that make our world a much more dangerous place. Lining the pockets of wealthy corporations and cutting the safety net that the poorest among us rely on. It is at once absurd and immoral.

“Whose future is improved by this budget proposal? The increased funds proposed to run through the Pentagon and directly into defense contractors’ pockets will starve the needs of American families and disproportionately impact low wage workers and single heads of households - the majority of whom are women. The dollars that fund a wide array of crucial services such as health care, environmental protection, repairing roads and bridges, and much more would be cut to improve the future of a handful of companies and the very wealthy people who run them.

“The President’s proposed budget would stymie economic growth and shift costs to the states. By diverting funding for domestic programs to unnecessary and wasteful Pentagon projects, we sacrifice opportunities for improving the economic reality for low income women and families. Public dollars invested in clean energy, health care, and education create significantly more and better paying jobs when compared to investing an equivalent amount in the military sector.

“The sustainable way of improving America’s future is to invest in diplomacy and fund services that have tangible impacts on people’s everyday lives: combating climate change and ensuring that we have safe and clean water to drink and air to breathe, building a world class education system that lifts people out of poverty, and providing a healthcare system that works for all.”

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