Dems Launch Overdue Salvo Against $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Budget

[Brenda]

Early in the House committee’s marathon 14-hour markup of the bill, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., led an amendment to cut the bill’s proposed $1.14 trillion topline by $150 billion. The first sign that this was going to make a splash came when not the usual two or three, but 11 lawmakers spoke in support of the amendment. While the measure ultimately failed 25-31, the fact that it garnered support from all but two Democrats on a committee that normally scoffs at efforts to cut military spending is an undeniable signal that the stars are aligned for a long-overdue showdown over the appropriate size of the Pentagon budget.

On the other side of the Capitol, during the Senate Armed Services Committee’s closed-door markup of the bill, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., led a virtually identical amendment to cut $150 billion from the topline, which won unanimous support from Democrats as well as from Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, leading to a 13-14 vote.

These votes were largely partisan, but reining in military spending isn’t a partisan issue for American taxpayers. A recent poll found that 65% of Americans oppose increasing the Pentagon budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. It’s not hard to understand why.

Moreover, under these circumstances, advancing the president’s pursuit of a nearly 50% increase in military spending could be viewed as giving this administration, and potentially future administrations, a green light to continue waging wars without congressional approval.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/dems-launch-overdue-salvo-against-1-5-trillion-pentagon-budget/