Press Release: Federal Budget Priorities

For Immediate Release: insert date

Contact: Your name | your phone | your email

Hundreds of Women State Legislators Urge Congress to Address Military Spending

In a letter delivered in April 2011, more than 330 legislators from across the country urge Congress to consider making responsible cuts to wasteful military spending. The legislators call for shifting the federal budget away from Cold War weapons and toward a new approach to security.

Representing millions of constituents, state lawmakers say that military spending must be on the table as Congress considers a range of cuts to programs in other portions of the budgets.

Read the letter here.

WASHINGTON, DC – More than 330 women state legislators from across the country signed a letter delivered last week to every Member of Congress, urging responsible cuts to the military budget. They cite recommendations from commission studies on the deficit, and reference supporting comments from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other national security leaders.

The letter campaign, organized by Women Legislators’ Lobby (WiLL) conveys an urgent message to Congress, where federal spending decisions are being weighed.  Legislators contend that Congress cannot responsibly withhold scrutiny of Pentagon spending, the portion of the budget that makes up 56% of discretionary spending in the President’s FY12 requested budget.

“We’re facing historic budget challenges here in [insert your state]. I’m concerned that Congress has focused its efforts on budget-cutting on one tiny portion of federal spending—non-security discretionary spending. Any serious conversation about the federal budget cannot ignore the enormous number of dollars poured into the Pentagon,” says [your name here, please edit to personalize]. “We’re considering cuts to [insert program names for example: job training, senior at-home services, trauma care services, meals-on-wheels, pre-kindergarten, college scholarships, technical schools, public health clinics, domestic violence shelters while the military budget gets bigger and bigger without any serious scrutiny. Experts agree we can support our troops and keep our nation safe without allowing the military’s budget to continue to rise.”

The good news is that redirecting federal dollars – away from Cold War weapons and toward other public projects - makes sense for our economic recovery. In the current economic climate, when we are doing all we can to invest in programs that create jobs and stimulate the economy, we can do better by spending money on public projects other than the military. An economic study from the University of Massachusetts** found that investing federal funds in public projects (such as transportation, education and health care) yields more jobs and economic return than investing in military spending.”

“This is clearly a win-win,” says [insert your name]. “We need Congress to face the truth and have the courage to tackle meaningful reform of the military budget. In the long run, we’ll be safer and more secure for a prosperous and healthy future.”

____________________________________________________________________

The letter was organized by Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND), which mobilizes women legislators and community leaders to bring women’s voices to the pressing public debate on war, militarism and re-ordering the nation’s spending priorities. The Women Legislators’ Lobby (WiLL) is a national non-partisan network of women state legislators who work together to influence federal policy and budget priorities. WiLL is a program of WAND.  For more information, visit www.willwand.org

**The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities: An Updated Analysis,

University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Department of Economics (October 2009)