TPA Joins Bipartisan Coalition Supporting Defense Appropriations Amendments

Right now in Washington, D.C. there is a great deal of activity in Congress as members rush towards the July 4th holiday break. The last few weeks we’ve seen a several appropriations bills make their way through committees and onto the House and Senate floors funding Transportation, Education, Housing, Energy, and Defense. Today, as Congress continues work on H.R. 4870, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2015 it is important to know that there are a great deal of attempts made by representatives on both sides of the poltiical aisle to use these spending bills as a vehicle to save money for taxpayers. As much waste and unncesary spending as we see during the rush to get appropriations bills through both chambers, there are also examples of smart and reasonable amendments that will cut spending and provide taxpayers with a rare win. Today, in a letter sent to the House by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), TPA joined with Antiwar.com, Coalition to Reduce Spending, Council for a Livable World, DownsizeDC.org, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Just Foreign Policy, National Priorities Project, National Taxpayers Union, Peace Action, Peace Action West, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), Taxpayers for Common Sense, United for Peace and Justice, U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), Win Without War, and Women’s Action for New Directions to support several taxpayer-friendly amendments that have been put forth in the debate of the 2015 defense spending bill. TPA is hopeful that more amendments saving taxpayer dollars will be put forth as the appropriations process continues in the coming weeks.

Read the full letter below:

June 19, 2014

The undersigned organizations may not agree on many things, but we all agree on this: The United States must curb wasteful and ineffective spending at the Pentagon. Doing so will save billions of valuable tax dollars as well as help to make America safer with the hard decisions our national security requires.

As you consider H.R. 4870, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2015, we hope you will keep in mind ways to eliminate wasteful and unnecessary spending, reduce obsolete and antiquated weapons systems and policies, and increase oversight of limited tax dollars. There is a growing consensus—among members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, policy experts of various stripes, and even defense industry CEOs—that you can, and should, find areas for substantial savings in the Pentagon’s bloated budget.

We believe there are smart ways to achieve this savings, and urge you to vote in favor of a handful of amendments that have broad, bipartisan support. While these amendments are only a start to reining in the bloated Pentagon budget, we urge you to use this opportunity to set a stronger, better, and more sustainable path for our national security. In a time of fiscal restraint, we cannot afford to put parochial political interests ahead of our national security.

We urge you to vote YES on the following sensible amendments:

Speier (CA): Cut $50.2 million for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) counter-mine mission module in order to reduce concurrency.

Speier (CA): Prevent the Pentagon from entering into new contracts for additional Littoral Combat Ships in Fiscal Year 2015.

Nadler (NY): Strike language in the bill that prevents funds from being used to decommission Minuteman III ballistic missile silos.

Murphy (FL): Prevent the Department of Defense from funding operations and maintenance of facilities which are not being utilized.

As you vote on the defense appropriations bill, we thank you for considering our broad consensus for finding sensible savings to make our nation more secure.

Sincerely,

Antiwar.com
Coalition to Reduce Spending
Council for a Livable World
DownsizeDC.org
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Just Foreign Policy
National Priorities Project
National Taxpayers Union
Peace Action
Peace Action West
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)
Project On Government Oversight
Taxpayers for Common Sense
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
United for Peace and Justice
U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)
Win Without War
Women’s Action for New Directions