Tlaib Says $900 Billion Military Budget ‘Impossible to Justify’

OLIVIA ROSANE 

"While Americans struggle to access clean water, basic healthcare, and enough food for their kids, Republicans and corporate Democrats continue to waste our tax dollars on endless war," she said.

As the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday, Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan criticized her colleagues for earmarking a record $886.3 billion for the U.S. military while many of their constituents cannot meet basic needs.

"This budget is impossible to justify when our neighbors are struggling to put food on the table, fighting to keep a roof over their heads, and rationing their medication," Tlaib said in a statement.

"While Americans struggle to access clean water, basic healthcare, and enough food for their kids, Republicans and corporate Democrats continue to waste our tax dollars on endless war," Tlaib continued. "It's outrageous that every year, we spend more on weapons and war than the next nine countries combined."

The House approved the bill 310 to 118. The vote followed the Senate passage of the NDAA on Wednesday. As with the Senate version, the House bill included a controversial extension of a warrantless surveillance program known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), of which Tlaib is a member, had recommended a "no" vote on the bill, in part because of its excessive spending and in part because of the Section 702 extension.

"The FY24 NDAA authorizes an unacceptably high national defense spending topline of $886.3 billion—all at a time when the Pentagon has failed an independent audit for its sixth consecutive year," the CPC said in a recommendation reported by The American Prospect, adding that the bill "contains a reauthorization of surveillance authorities routinely used against Americans in violation of the Constitutional right to privacy."

The CPC has historically opposed the NDAA because of spending concerns.

"We must divest from endless war and death. My residents sent me to Congress to invest in life," Tlaib said in explaining her "no" vote.

She then listed many efforts the government could spend money on instead, including fully funding Social Security, enacting Medicare for All, forgiving student debt, ending utility and water shutoffs, addressing the climate crisis, funding schools, and providing universal school meals.

"Year after year my colleagues in Congress and powerful people in Washington tell us that there's no money for these lifesaving programs, that our deficit is simply too high. Only to turn around and pass yet another record-breaking Pentagon budget, giving $886.3 billion of our tax dollars to fund bombs, weapons, and war crimes—no questions asked," Tlaib said.

Other prominent progressives who voted "no" included Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Mark Pocan, (D-Wis.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.).

"$886 Billion dollars could go a long way toward improving the lives of everyday working people," Coleman tweeted. "The people's basic needs must come first."

Some thought this year's NDAA might not pass, but not because of progressive opposition, The Washington Post reported. Rather, far-right House Republicans had attached several provisions targeting what they saw as "woke" policies in the military. These included a measure that would have prohibited the Defense Department from reimbursing travel costs for service members stationed in a state where abortion is restricted who needed to seek reproductive healthcare elsewhere.

The Senate bill removed many of these provisions, including the ban on travel funds, and the House ended up agreeing to pass it without many of them. However, the final bill does ban service members from flying unauthorized flags, such as the Pride flag, at military sites; stipulate that no Defense Department money can be spent on drag shows; and limit the starting salaries of employees focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

 

This article originally appeared in Common Dreams on December 15th, 2023.  

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