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Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley hold an end of year press conference at the Pentagon on December 20, 2019 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Sen. Bernie Sanders late Tuesday filed a slate of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act aiming to force the Pentagon to pass an independent audit, require the federal government to mass-produce and deliver free masks to everyone in the U.S., and bar funding for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen.
The amendments came in addition to the Vermont senator's plan to slash the Senate's proposed $740.5 billion Pentagon budget by 10% and redirect the savings toward funding healthcare, housing, education, and jobs in impoverished U.S. communities.
"If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, jet fighters, tanks, submarines, nuclear warheads, and other weapons of mass destruction."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"A major reason why there is so much waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon is the fact that the Defense Department remains the only federal agency in America that hasn't been able to pass an independent audit," Sanders said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. "It is time to hold the Defense Department to the same level of accountability as the rest of the government."
Sanders' amendment (pdf)--introduced alongside Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Mike Lee (R-Utah)--would require the Pentagon to pass a clean audit by fiscal year 2025 and would penalize Defense Department agencies that fail to pass an audit by forcing them to return a portion of their budgets to the Treasury.
The Vermont senator also filed an NDAA amendment (pdf) that would use the Defense Production Act to mass-produce and distribute five free face masks per month to every person in the U.S. through the Postal Service--a proposal Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, endorsed during a Senate hearing earlier Tuesday.
"This amendment is about listening to the science and saving lives," Sanders said. "Here is what my amendment will do: It would require the Trump administration to use the Defense Production Act to make hundreds of millions of high-quality masks and deliver five of them, per person, directly to every household in America on a monthly basis, until the pandemic has ended."
"There are so many things we don't know about Covid-19," the Vermont senator continued. "But on this issue, the science is absolutely clear: masks save lives. We must act now to save tens of thousands of lives by forcing the Trump administration to follow basic science and protect the American people--and that's what this amendment is all about."
In addition to the major public health benefits of face masks, a team of economists at Goldman Sachs estimated that a nationwide mask mandate would save the U.S. economy $1 trillion by reducing the need for widespread lockdowns.
"A face mask mandate could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP," wrote Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs' chief economist.
As the Washington Post's Christopher Ingraham noted, "the authors of the report are economists and not public health experts" and "their primary motivation is to protect the economic interests of Goldman Sachs' investors, which is why they're interested in the effects of federal policy on gross domestic product."
"But their findings are in line with a number of other published studies on the efficacy of masks," Ingraham wrote.
Sanders' office on Tuesday released a summary of the senator's six amendments to the NDAA for fiscal year 2021:
"If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, jet fighters, tanks, submarines, nuclear warheads, and other weapons of mass destruction," Sanders said in his floor speech Tuesday. "National security also means doing everything we can to improve the lives of our people, many of whom have been abandoned by our government decade after decade."
Watch the senator's full speech:
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Sen. Bernie Sanders late Tuesday filed a slate of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act aiming to force the Pentagon to pass an independent audit, require the federal government to mass-produce and deliver free masks to everyone in the U.S., and bar funding for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen.
The amendments came in addition to the Vermont senator's plan to slash the Senate's proposed $740.5 billion Pentagon budget by 10% and redirect the savings toward funding healthcare, housing, education, and jobs in impoverished U.S. communities.
"If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, jet fighters, tanks, submarines, nuclear warheads, and other weapons of mass destruction."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"A major reason why there is so much waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon is the fact that the Defense Department remains the only federal agency in America that hasn't been able to pass an independent audit," Sanders said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. "It is time to hold the Defense Department to the same level of accountability as the rest of the government."
Sanders' amendment (pdf)--introduced alongside Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Mike Lee (R-Utah)--would require the Pentagon to pass a clean audit by fiscal year 2025 and would penalize Defense Department agencies that fail to pass an audit by forcing them to return a portion of their budgets to the Treasury.
The Vermont senator also filed an NDAA amendment (pdf) that would use the Defense Production Act to mass-produce and distribute five free face masks per month to every person in the U.S. through the Postal Service--a proposal Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, endorsed during a Senate hearing earlier Tuesday.
"This amendment is about listening to the science and saving lives," Sanders said. "Here is what my amendment will do: It would require the Trump administration to use the Defense Production Act to make hundreds of millions of high-quality masks and deliver five of them, per person, directly to every household in America on a monthly basis, until the pandemic has ended."
"There are so many things we don't know about Covid-19," the Vermont senator continued. "But on this issue, the science is absolutely clear: masks save lives. We must act now to save tens of thousands of lives by forcing the Trump administration to follow basic science and protect the American people--and that's what this amendment is all about."
In addition to the major public health benefits of face masks, a team of economists at Goldman Sachs estimated that a nationwide mask mandate would save the U.S. economy $1 trillion by reducing the need for widespread lockdowns.
"A face mask mandate could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP," wrote Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs' chief economist.
As the Washington Post's Christopher Ingraham noted, "the authors of the report are economists and not public health experts" and "their primary motivation is to protect the economic interests of Goldman Sachs' investors, which is why they're interested in the effects of federal policy on gross domestic product."
"But their findings are in line with a number of other published studies on the efficacy of masks," Ingraham wrote.
Sanders' office on Tuesday released a summary of the senator's six amendments to the NDAA for fiscal year 2021:
"If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, jet fighters, tanks, submarines, nuclear warheads, and other weapons of mass destruction," Sanders said in his floor speech Tuesday. "National security also means doing everything we can to improve the lives of our people, many of whom have been abandoned by our government decade after decade."
Watch the senator's full speech:
Sen. Bernie Sanders late Tuesday filed a slate of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act aiming to force the Pentagon to pass an independent audit, require the federal government to mass-produce and deliver free masks to everyone in the U.S., and bar funding for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen.
The amendments came in addition to the Vermont senator's plan to slash the Senate's proposed $740.5 billion Pentagon budget by 10% and redirect the savings toward funding healthcare, housing, education, and jobs in impoverished U.S. communities.
"If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, jet fighters, tanks, submarines, nuclear warheads, and other weapons of mass destruction."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"A major reason why there is so much waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon is the fact that the Defense Department remains the only federal agency in America that hasn't been able to pass an independent audit," Sanders said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. "It is time to hold the Defense Department to the same level of accountability as the rest of the government."
Sanders' amendment (pdf)--introduced alongside Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Mike Lee (R-Utah)--would require the Pentagon to pass a clean audit by fiscal year 2025 and would penalize Defense Department agencies that fail to pass an audit by forcing them to return a portion of their budgets to the Treasury.
The Vermont senator also filed an NDAA amendment (pdf) that would use the Defense Production Act to mass-produce and distribute five free face masks per month to every person in the U.S. through the Postal Service--a proposal Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, endorsed during a Senate hearing earlier Tuesday.
"This amendment is about listening to the science and saving lives," Sanders said. "Here is what my amendment will do: It would require the Trump administration to use the Defense Production Act to make hundreds of millions of high-quality masks and deliver five of them, per person, directly to every household in America on a monthly basis, until the pandemic has ended."
"There are so many things we don't know about Covid-19," the Vermont senator continued. "But on this issue, the science is absolutely clear: masks save lives. We must act now to save tens of thousands of lives by forcing the Trump administration to follow basic science and protect the American people--and that's what this amendment is all about."
In addition to the major public health benefits of face masks, a team of economists at Goldman Sachs estimated that a nationwide mask mandate would save the U.S. economy $1 trillion by reducing the need for widespread lockdowns.
"A face mask mandate could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP," wrote Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs' chief economist.
As the Washington Post's Christopher Ingraham noted, "the authors of the report are economists and not public health experts" and "their primary motivation is to protect the economic interests of Goldman Sachs' investors, which is why they're interested in the effects of federal policy on gross domestic product."
"But their findings are in line with a number of other published studies on the efficacy of masks," Ingraham wrote.
Sanders' office on Tuesday released a summary of the senator's six amendments to the NDAA for fiscal year 2021:
"If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, jet fighters, tanks, submarines, nuclear warheads, and other weapons of mass destruction," Sanders said in his floor speech Tuesday. "National security also means doing everything we can to improve the lives of our people, many of whom have been abandoned by our government decade after decade."
Watch the senator's full speech: