Won't budget cuts hurt our military personnel and veterans?

If the military budget was cut just 1%, Maryland would have $208 million to spend on other needs. This is equivalent to the following:

• 5,300 university scholarships for four years, OR

• Salaries for 2,050 elementary school teachers for one year OR

• 32, 211 adults receiving healthcare for a year.

From 30-50% of the military budget goes directly to weapons contractors. It is also important to note that services to Veterans is a totally separate budget item.

Montgomery County has many workers who are employed by Lockheed Martin. Will cutting the military budget hurt them?

Lockheed received $40.34 million of our tax dollars. Their profits were nearly $4 billion. Their top executives collectively earned $57 million, which included $22 million to their CEO. As a frame of reference, Dr. Anthony Fauci’s salary was $474K.

The weapons contractor also spends $14 million to lobby the Federal government. SImply put, modest reductions to their contract shouidn’t impact employees.

Isn't the military a job creator? 

Actually its the opposite. According to Brown University’s Watson Institute (chart below), investing the same amount of money into alternative industries creates more jobs. As an example, investing the same amount of money into the healthcare industry almost creates double the number of jobs than investing into the military.

What is the relationship between the US military and the environment?

The US military accounts for 5% of the world’s carbon emissions. . In 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to reduce carbon emissions. The Pentagon and their contractors were exempt from the requirement.

In addition, there are concerns about the toxicity of US military waste from munitions, chemical weapons and nuclear waste. In Maryland, several military bases have contaminated surrounding errors with the carcinogen PFAs. PFA investigations to the poisoning of our water supply by military’s dumping of PFAs into our water and ground systems.

Why are you reaching out to local elected officials since it is our Federal representatives that vote on the military budget?

Local elected officials are stewards of our tax dollars. Even though they don’t vote on the military budget, their budgets for community services is impacted and they play a role in amplifying the voices/concerns of their constituents.

There have been many instances where State and local elected officials have drafted Dear Colleague letters and resolutions to advocate to their Federal counterpart. In our 2012 campaign, Takoma Park issued a “Fund our Communities Not the Pentagon” resolution. Nearly 50 State and local elected leaders in Maryland sent a Dear Colleague letter to their Federal counterparts. Jamie Raskin (then a State senator was a legislative champion of the campaign)

What is the People’s Budget?

The Congressional Progressive Caucus has drafted the “People’s Budget” as a roadmap on their values for Federal spending. A key pillar is to stop massively increasing Pentagon budgets that fuel wars and sap communities of vital investments in education, housing and more.

I’m interested in reducing money that goes to the prison industrial complex and ICE. Does the military budget also include that?

No, these are different pots of money. But the National Priorities Project also has a calculator for those expenditures to help with that advocacy. Homeland security is also a separate expenditure.