Congress: It's Your Responsibility Now

The Super Committee had a super failure last week – and the job of reducing the deficit while protecting the needs of people who are in vulnerable positions now rests with every member of the House and of the Senate.

We must pressure our legislators to live up to the demands of the Budget Control Act. The Super Committee couldn’t do it, but that doesn’t mean we should allow the goals of the sequestration to get lost. We must ensure that:

• No provisions outlined in the sequestration are repealed,
• Spending cuts come at least as much from the military as from the safety net and foreign assistance expenditures,
• Programs exempted and protected in the BCA remain protected,
• The Affordable Care Act is preserved in its entirety – it is a highly integrated program of many parts,
• At least half of deficit reduction is a result of new tax revenue.

There is danger that there will be an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, to be voted on this week, to eliminate the cuts to defense outlined in sequestration. Tell your Senators to vote against any attempt to reduce or eliminate spending cuts to the military.

Talking Points

The current fiscal year (FY2011) ended on September 30, 2011. Below is a wrap-up of military spending for the year.

These figures are based on projections by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Fiscal Year 2011 spending included in its FY 2012 budget request. The actual FY 2011 budget was not finalized until passage of the budget agreement on April 8, 2011. All figures are for Budget Authority, and are in current (FY 2011) dollars. (National Priorities Project)

To take action and contact your Members of Congress, click here.

Additional information from the National Priorities Project

Cost of war to the United States

U.S. Discretionary Spending (Non-military)