Thread by @K_Thomas_Ross

U.S. defense spending may now exceed that of the next 13 nations combined. To protect us from – Russia? No, tRump is Putin’s best friend, and he’s withdrawing troops from Europe. China? Only if they are foolish enough to attack Taiwan.

1/16

No, the main purpose of the Pentagon is to feed the military-industrial complex, which contribute to political campaigns. At a time of massive budget deficits, massive unemployment (and increased unemployment benefits expiring) and a pandemic which remains unaddressed.

2/16

Congress is about to pass its annual Defense appropriation, increasing the massive waste even more. The bloated $741B Pentagon spending bill includes $140B in Procurement, $16B for a nuclear weapons binge, and $15B for the Star Force.

3/16

It also increases the amount we give to Israel to suppressing and colonizing the Palestinian people. The US is complicit in this Crime against Humanity, including every person in Congress who votes for this bill.

4/16

The most liberal & most conservative in Congress have voted against the bloated Pentagon budget. It overrides the budget caps set only last year. Progressives, led by Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey (D-MA), proposed a 10% reduction in the Defense budget.

5/16

About half of the Senate Democrats voted in favor of that amendment, as did 93 Reps. That bill failed, and each house has a different version of the Defense appropriation bill. So far, only a minority of Democratic Senators and Reps have voted against the bloated bill.

6/16

The vote in the Senate was 86-14. 4 Repugs voted against it. These are the Democrats (& Ind) who voted against the waste, and against the continued support for Israel’s crimes against humanity.

7/16

If your Senators are not on this list, please ask them why they are for bloated Pentagon spending during the biggest federal deficits since WW2, and in favor of the continued colonization of Palestine.

8/16

Demo Senators against the wasteful Pentagon spending:

CA Kamala Harris
Mass Ed Markey
Mass Elizabeth Warren
NJ Cory Booker
NY Kirsten Gillibrand
OH Sherrod Brown
OR Jeff Merkley
OR Ron Wyden
VT Pat Leahy
VT Bernie Sanders

9/16

The bloated preliminary $741B Pentagon spending bill passed the House 295-125, with only 43 House Demos voting no.

If your Rep is not on this list, ask them why they favor wasteful spending and the continued colonization of Palestine.

10/16

Demo Reps against the wasteful Pentagon spending:
CA-11 Mark DeSaulnier
CA-13 Barbara Lee
CA-17 Ro Khanna
CA-19 Zoe Lofgren
CA-33 Ted Lieu
CA-34 Jimmy Gomez
CA-43 Maxine Waters
CA-44 Nanette Barragan
CA-47Alan Lowenthal
CA- 51 Juan Vargas
GA-4 Hank Johnson

11/16

Demo Reps against the wasteful Pentagon spending:
HI-2 Tulsi Gabbard
IL-4 Jesus García
IL-7 Danny Davis
MA-2 Jim McGovern
MA-4 Joseph Kennedy
MA-5 Katherine Clark
MA-7Ayanna Pressley
MD-8 Jamie Raskin
MI-12 Debbie Dingell
MI-13 Rashida Tlaib
MI-5 Daniel Kildee

12/16

Demo Reps against the wasteful Pentagon spending:
MI-9 Andy Levin
MN-5 Ilhan Omar
NJ-12 Bonnie Watson Coleman
NY-6 Grace Meng
NY-9 Yvette Clarke
NY-10 Jerry Nadler
NY-12 Carolyn Maloney
NY-13 Adriano Espaillat
NY-14 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
NY-15 Jos Serrano

13/16

Demo Reps against the wasteful Pentagon spending:

NY-20 Paul Tonko
OR-1 Suzanne Bonamici
OR-3 Earl Blumenauer
PA-18 Mike Doyle
PA-2 Brendan Boyle
TX-20 Joaquin Castro
TX-35 Lloyd Doggett
VT-AL Peter Welch
WA-7 Pramila Jayapal
WI–2 Mark Pocan
WI-4 Gwen Moore

14/16

The bill was now including in the overall collection of six appropriations bills, which passed the House July 31. Senate action is stalled.

The biggest hope now is that tRump will veto the bill, because it changes the names of bases names for Confederates.

15/16

Not included in this spending bill are the State Dept (being severely cut back), the VA, the Coast Guard, non-military foreign assistance & pensions for retired military personnel.

govtrack.us/congress/votes…
govtrack.us/congress/votes…

16/16

@threadreaderapp unroll, please.