OFFICIAL DAILY ACTION FOR Thursday, December 9th, 2021
The House passed the 2022 Defense Budget unequivocally on Tuesday, allocating $768 billion to military readiness. This makes it the largest defense budget in U.S. history and $25 billion over Biden’s initial request. The final version of the budget surfaced in the final hour from a closed discussion between the Armed Services committees from the House and Senate. It’s expected to pass in the Senate as well.
Several key progressive measures were done away with in a last-ditch effort to create a budget palatable for both parties. This slapdash effort is the paragon of reckless military spending; even worse, the budget’s measures seem to be at odds with Congress’s proclaimed goals. For example, increasing tension from China and Russia will supposedly be addressed with this funding; yet sanctions challenging Russia’s gas pipeline Nors Stream 2 were dropped from the budget.
Among our Washington representatives, support of the bill is mixed. Pramila Jayapal issued a resounding no for the budget, but Chairman of the Armed Services Committee Adam Smith has been decidedly pro-increase. It’s important that our reps know we want them to oppose this budget.
ACTION: Tell our Representatives We Don’t Support the Defense Budget
Rep. Pramila Jayapal: 202-225-3106 / 206-674-0040
Rep. Adam Smith: 202-225-8901 / 425-793-5180
Script for Rep. Jayapal:
“Hello, my name is [name], and I’m calling from [city, zip]. I am calling to thank the representative for voting against the Defense budget, and to encourage her to continue making it known that this budget is excessive and unjustified.”
Script for Rep. Smith:
“Hello, my name is [name], and I’m calling from [city, zip]. I am calling to denounce the passage of the Defense budget. This budget is excessive and unjustified, and I urge the representative to reconsider his support.”
