SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
March, 25 2009, 09:30am EDT
Contact:
Marie Rietmann 202-544-5055 rietmann@wand.org
Groups Unite to Urge Congress to Redirect Federal Spending to Meet Human Needs and Rebuild the Economy
They believe the U.S. can trim excess “defense” spending and find new solutions that make the country safer and stronger
WASHINGTON
Calling for a new and better definition of security, organizations representing millions of constituents from across the U.S. signed onto a letter to Congress delivered March 25, 2009. The letter urges Congress to reevaluate the country's security needs, and to make changes in the proposed FY10 federal budget. Specifically, it seeks to redirect money from the Pentagon to human and environmental needs.
"Human needs groups see first hand, every day, how our federal budget affects millions of Americans," says Susan Shaer, executive director of WAND (Women's Action for New Directions). "And truly, we are alarmed. We believe that our citizens are at risk, and facing security challenges every day; many are without jobs, healthcare, housing, and even food. The recession is posing the most risk to those who are already vulnerable: the poor, the disabled, the elderly. It's time to readjust our federal budget to meet these urgent needs."
The broad coalition, from Common Cause to FCNL to the National Organization for Women, acknowledges that the federal budget is under increased strain -- due to demands from the crumbling economy, years of deficit spending, and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - but agrees on one area of the budget that is bloated and has excess resources: the Pentagon. "Every year, the Pentagon gobbles up at least half of the federal discretionary budget," says Marie Rietmann, public policy director of WAND. "We could easily cut several weapons systems that were developed in the 1980s to fight the Cold War, and our defense capabilities would be just as strong."
The organizations hope to show Congress that there is a huge groundswell of grassroots support for diverting money away from obsolete weapons and toward rebuilding a stronger economy. "It's time for Congress to stand up to Pentagon contractors, with their lobbyists and tens of millions in political contributions, and do what's right for the American people by cutting unneeded military spending and using that money in ways that maximize job creation and economic recovery," says Common Cause President Bob Edgar.
"What does it mean for individuals and families to feel secure?" asks Susan Shaer. "Is it several new F-22 aircraft that cost $351 million each, and do little or nothing to help against the real threats of today? Or is it feeling safe in a real home: fed, educated, healthy, warm? Because we're paying for more military toys while our folks at home are increasingly worried about everyday security needs. We are asking Congress to consider these trade-offs when they make the federal budget for FY10."
The letter -- organized by WAND and NETWORK - states: "The President's FY10 budget outline calls for $534 billion for DOD. That is an increase of $9 billion beyond inflation. In addition, separate supplemental appropriations continue to provide most of the money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, some $130 billion for FY10. Nuclear weapons and some miscellaneous military costs could add an estimated $23 billion for a national security total of $557 billion. Even though we are encouraged that this outline calls for a smaller increase than in recent years, it continues a relentless increase in DOD spending to a higher level than at any point since World War II. This does not make sense in a time of fiscal crisis."
Many of the organizations that signed on work with people who live on the edge, who daily feel insecure about what tomorrow holds. "Government has a role to play in these people's lives," says Shaer. "It is there to guarantee a certain level of security. But the federal budget increasingly defines security as having a huge military machine."
"It's time to re-deploy funds from war to providing for the needs of people here at home." Rietmann says, "We are not offering sufficient services to our own people, while we feed too much to the arms manufacturers. And make no mistake: this is not money for veterans; this is about weapons that were designed for a bygone era."
"As the most powerful, wealthiest country in the world, we should be able to take care of our citizens," says Rietmann. "We should be smart enough to see beyond technologically arcane weapons systems to the real needs of our people."
Signing organizations:
National groups
Americans for Democratic Action, Inc.
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
Black Women's Health Imperative
British American Security Information Council
Catholic Mobilization Network
Church Women United
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Coalition on Human Needs
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
Common Cause
Community Action Partnership
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Foreign Policy in Focus
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Gender Action
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Methodists United for Peace with Justice
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
National Organization for Women
National Priorities Project
NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Peace Action
People with Disabilities for Social & Economic Justice, Inc.
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office
Progressive States Network
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Women's Focus Committee
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, United States Province
3D Security Initiative
True Majority
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society
USAction
Washington Office of Public Policy, Women's Division, United Methodist Church
Women's Action for New Directions
Local, State, and Regional groups
Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition/Phoenix, Arizona
Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas/Larkspur, California
Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)/Livermore
St. Mark Presbyterian Church Peace and Justice Commission/Newport Beach
Interfaith Peace Ministry Orange County/Orange
Orange County Interfaith Coalition for Peace and Justice/Orange
California Church IMPACT/Sacramento
Sellers & Company/San Diego
Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment/Tustin
Jewish Family Services/Danbury, Connecticut
Collaborative Center for Justice/Hartford
Pax Christi Northeast Florida/St. Augustine, Florida
Coalition for the Peoples' Agenda/Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia WAND/Atlanta
North Decatur Presbyterian Peace & Justice Committee/Decatur
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Central Leadership/Nazareth, Kentucky
Peace Action Maine/Portland, Maine
Xaverian Brothers USA/Baltimore, Maryland
PeaceAction Montgomery/Brookeville
Nepal America Welfare Association/Somerville, Massachusetts
Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield
Gray Panthers of Huron Valley/Ann Arbor, Michigan
WAND Southeast Michigan/Southfield
Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs/Duluth
Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation Advisory Committee, Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls
People of Faith Peacemakers/Minneapolis and St. Paul
Women Against Military Madness/Minneapolis
Public Policy Center of Mississippi/Jackson, Mississippi
Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood/O'Fallon, Missouri
St. Louis Province of the Carondelet Congregation, U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph/St. Louis
West Midwest Justice Team, Sisters of Mercy/Omaha, Nebraska
NH Citizens Alliance for Action/Concord, New Hampshire
New Jersey Tenants Organization/Hackensack, New Jersey
YWCA of Binghamton & Broome County/Binghamton, New York
Reaching-Out Community Services Inc./Brooklyn, NY
West Side Campaign Against Hunger/New York, NY
North Carolina Fair Share/Raleigh, North Carolina
Oklahoma Therapeutic Foster Care Association/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Albany Peace Seekers/Albany, Oregon
Corvallis Alternatives to War/Corvallis
Climate Crisis Working Group/Eugene
Community Alliance of Lane County, Eugene
Eugene Peace Works, Eugene
Oregon WAND, Eugene
Veterans for Peace - Squadron 13/ Eugene
Seeking Out Democracy/Junction City
Human Services Coalition of Oregon/Portland
Peace with Justice Ministries/Network Oregon-Idaho United Methodist Church Conference/Portland
Oregon PeaceWorks/Salem
PathWays PA/Holmes, Pennslyvania
Epiphany House, Inc./Lansdowne
Campaign for Working Families/Philadelphia
Just Harvest/Pittsburgh
Providence Connections Inc./Pittsburgh
Tennessee Citizen Action/Nashville, Tennessee
37th Legislative District Democratic Committee/Seattle, Washington
Peace Action Wisconsin/Milwaukee, Wisconsin
LATEST NEWS
'Billionaires Over Life on Earth': Trump EPA Guts Vast Array of Environmental Protections
"The Trump administration is trying to roll back decades of critical health and safety regulations that have saved millions of lives and are all that's standing between us and runaway climate change," said one campaigner.
Mar 12, 2025
While U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin boasted Wednesday of canceling billions of dollars worth of green grants, considering the rollback of dozens of regulations, and shutting down every environmental justice office nationwide, critics warned the moves will have dire consequences for people and the planet.
Zeldin—a former Republican congressman from New York with an abysmal 14% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters—said in a statement that the EPA "will undertake 31 historic actions in the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history."
"We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S., and more," Zeldin said. "Alongside President [Donald] Trump, we are living up to our promises to unleash American energy, lower costs for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, and work hand-in-hand with our state partners to advance our shared mission."
In one of the biggest moves of the day, the EPA will reconsider its endangerment finding, which the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) described as "the landmark scientific finding that forms the core basis of federal climate action."
"Removing the endangerment finding even as climate chaos accelerates is like spraying gasoline on a burning house," said Jason Rylander, legal director of the CBD's Climate Law Institute. "We had d27 separate climate disasters costing over a billion dollars last year. Now more than ever the United States needs to step up efforts to cut pollution and protect people from climate change. But instead Trump wants to yank us backward, creating enormous risks for people, wildlife, and our economy."
Zeldin said the EPA is "eliminating all diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental justice offices and positions immediately," a move that will result in the closure of 10 regional facilities. The EPA chief explained the move complies with Trump's executive order on "ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferences" and other presidential directives.
The agency also moved to cancel a $2 billion grant program to help communities suffering from pollution.
"This is a fuck you to anyone who wants to breathe clean air, drink clean water, or live past 2030," Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the youth-led climate group Sunrise Movement, said in a statement accusing the Trump administration of choosing "billionaires over life on Earth."
"The Trump administration is trying to roll back decades of critical health and safety regulations that have saved millions of lives and are all that's standing between us and runaway climate change," Shiney-Ajay continued. "Trump doesn't care about working people, all he cares about is pleasing the oil and gas billionaires who bankrolled his campaign. They know their industry is dying. Wind and solar are cheaper and safer than fossil fuels."
"So, they are trying to buy their way to profitability by rigging the rules in their favor," she added. "If they get their way, they will wreck our air, our water, burn down our homes, and hand future generations an unlivable climate."
TRANSLATION: Fuck you and fuck your future. Corporate polluters can dump sewage in your water, spew toxic gas into your air, and double down on burning the fossil fuels driving us into climate apocalypse. Billionaires can do whatever they want, and everyday people can eat shit.
[image or embed]
— Sunrise Movement ( @sunrisemvmt.bsky.social) March 12, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Matthew Tejada, a former deputy assistant administrator at the Office of Environmental Justice for over a decade before leaving the EPA in December 2023, now serves as senior vice president for environmental health at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). He toldCBS News Wednesday that "generations of progress are being erased from our federal government."
"Trump's EPA is taking us back to a time of unfettered pollution across the nation, leaving every American exposed to toxic chemicals, dirty air, and contaminated water," Tejada said in a separate NRDC statement Wednesday.
Tejada continued:
The grants that EPA moved to cancel are some of the most important to help make communities across the nation safer, healthier, and more prosperous. They are helping rural Virginia coal communities prepare for extreme flooding, installing sewage systems on rural Alabama homes, and turning an abandoned, polluted site in Tampa, Florida into a campus for healthcare, job training, and a small business development.
Those who have paid the highest price for pollution, with their health, are now the first to be sacrificed by Trump's EPA. But they will not be the last. Every American should be worried about what this portends. We are witnessing the first step of removing environmental protections from everyone, as the chemical industry and fossil fuel producers get their way—and the rest of us will pay with our health and lost legal rights.
On Tuesday, the EPA also canceled grant agreements worth $20 billion issued during former President Joe Biden's administration as part of a so-called green bank meant to fund clean energy and climate mitigation projects. The move prompted a lawsuit by Climate United Fund, a nonprofit green investment fund.
In another alarming development, The New Republicreported Wednesday that the FBI under Director Kash Patel is "moving to criminalize groups like Habitat for Humanity for receiving grants from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration."
Responding to Zeldin's sweeping actions Wednesday, the environmental group Sierra Club said the EPA is "attacking safeguards to limit pollution from power plants and vehicles, methane and other deadly emissions from oil and gas sources, mercury and air toxics standards, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, wastewater regulations at coal plants, and many other critical protections for the environment and public health."
"The standards that the EPA seeks to undermine are based on a strong scientific record and serve a number of public interests, including lowering the amount of deadly toxins fossil fuel-fired plants are allowed to release into the air and water; reducing pollution at steel and aluminum mills; and requiring fossil fuel companies to control pollution like soot, ozone, and toxic and hazardous air pollutants at power plants," the group continued.
"If these rules are withdrawn, the American public will see devastating health impacts," Sierra Club warned. "EPA estimated that just one of the rules would prevent 4,500 premature deaths and save $46 billion in health costs by 2032. The health toll and cost of rescinding all the rules listed in the EPA's announcement would be vastly higher."
"Donald Trump's actions will cause thousands of Americans to die each year."
Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous said: "Donald Trump's actions will cause thousands of Americans to die each year. It will send thousands of children to the hospital and force even more to miss school. It will pollute the air and water in communities across the country. And it will cause our energy bills to go up even more than they already are because of his disastrous policies. But as they put all of us at risk, Trump and his administration are celebrating because it will help corporate polluters pad their profit margin."
David Arkush, director of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen's Climate Program, said that "no matter how the EPA disguises the decision to roll back pollution rules, today's moves will make our air and water dirtier and make Americans sicker."
"Zeldin is granting the wishes of Trump's billionaire corporate cronies, plain and simple, at a massive cost to our health and wallets," he added. "The announcement flies in the face of the EPA's core mission to protect human health and safeguard our environment."
Green groups vowed to fight the Trump administration's attacks on environmental protections and justice.
"Come hell and high water, raging fires and deadly heatwaves, Trump and his cronies are bent on putting polluter profits ahead of people's lives," said CBD's Rylander. "This move won't stand up in court. We're going to fight it every step of the way."
Jealous of the Sierra Club said, "Make no mistake about it: We will fight these outrageous rollbacks tooth and nail, and we will use all resources at our disposal to continue protecting the health and safety of all Americans."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump Ignoring Court Orders Is New Grounds for Impeachment, Says Pro-Democracy Group
"He, like all presidents, must abide by the rule of law—and because he has not, Congress must adhere to its own obligations to carry out an impeachment investigation."
Mar 12, 2025
The pro-democracy group behind a campaign to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump a historic third time argued Wednesday that his administration's "blatant disregard for the judiciary branch" provides new grounds for Congress to launch an investigation.
Trump—who was impeached twice during his first term—returned to the White House in January, and since then has partnered with Elon Musk and various other billionaires to dismantle the federal government, provoking numerous ongoing legal battles.
As Free Speech for People detailed in a Wednesday statement, the new administration's recent "oversteps of the judiciary branch include: refusing to release $2 billion in foreign aid in defiance of multiple court orders; refusing to adhere to court orders that prohibit the Office of Management and Budget from implementing a freeze on all federal assistance; and refusing to adhere to a court order requiring U.S. Office of Personnel Management [acting Director] Charles Ezell to testify in person on March 13, 2025, in a lawsuit challenging Ezell and OPM's termination of thousands of employees."
Courtney Hostetler, legal director of the nonprofit, said that "the checks and balances of our three-branch government is a cornerstone of our democracy, created by our country's founders because they were rightfully afraid of how quickly, in the absence of a balanced system, our democracy might become a tyranny."
"Trump has usurped the powers of the legislature and now tramples on the authority of the judiciary," Hostetler continued. "In just one month, he has repeatedly ignored court rulings that have and must restrain his unlawful abuses of power. He, like all presidents, must abide by the rule of law—and because he has not, Congress must adhere to its own obligations to carry out an impeachment investigation."
Although the Free Speech for People's Impeach Trump Again campaign has collected over 250,000 petition signatures and Congressman Al Green (D-Texas) recently said he would bring articles of impeachment against the president, such an effort is unlikely to go anywhere given that both chambers are narrowly controlled by Republicans.
Even if Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in the midterms and pursued impeachment, they would also need sufficient support in the Senate to convict him. In both of Trump's previous Senate trials, he was not convicted.
Still, Free Speech for People argues that the House should launch an impeachment investigation into Trump for not only refusing to adhere to court orders, but also: planning the forced removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip; seeking retribution against perceived adversaries; dismantling independent government oversight; unconstitutionally usurping local, state, and congressional authority; receiving foreign and domestic emoluments; attempting to deprive Americans of birthright citizenship; dismissing criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams; abusing pardon and emergency powers; blocking efforts to secure U.S. elections; and engaging in unlawful, corrupt practices during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Experts Warn Trump Legal Claims for Mahmoud Khalil Arrest Portend Rise of Fascist Police State
"This targeting sends a chilling message to people across this country, on and off campuses, that anyone exercising their rights will be subject to repression, detention, and possible deportation," said one advocate.
Mar 12, 2025
As a federal judge on Wednesday extended an order temporarily banning the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil and new details emerged about the Trump administration's arguments for trying to expel him, legal experts and other commentators continued to express alarm over the targeting of the green-card holder involved with pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University last year.
In a Wednesday statement, Legal Defense Fund president and director-counsel Janai Nelson cited President Donald Trump's recent Truth Social post that described Khalil as "a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student" and pledged that "this is the first arrest of many to come."
Nelson warned that "the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, and President Trump's promise that there will be more arrests to come, is a chilling presentiment that raises serious concerns about this administration's misuse of immigration enforcement personnel to curtail and punish constitutionally protected First Amendment activity. The Trump administration's tactics aim to stoke fear and signal that dissent will result in harmful immigration consequences and other forms of oppression that may include surveillance, violence, detainment, and even potential deportation."
"The law is clear," she stressed. "The First Amendment guarantees demonstrators the right to peacefully assemble and dissent without government retaliation. We demand due process and human and civil rights protections for Mr. Khalil and all lawful protesters. His treatment should alarm everyone who believes in the primacy of the U.S. Constitution and, especially, First Amendment freedom and equal protection under law."
Khalil, an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, finished his studies at Columbia in December. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New York City on Saturday while returning home with his pregnant wife, a U.S. citizen who said that "ICE officers hung up the phone on our lawyer." He is being held at an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana.
The Washington Postreported Wednesday that "a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio is so far the Trump administration's sole justification for trying to deport" him. The newpaper obtained a notice informing Khalil that he faces deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act because Rubio "has reasonable ground to believe that your presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."
Rubio on Wednesday suggested to reporters that Khalil supports Hamas, which has goverened the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades and is designated as a terrorist group by the United States. The secretary said that "this is not about free speech. This is about people that don't have a right to be in the United States to begin with... No one has a right to a green card."
Khalil's lawyers said in a Monday filing that as a Palestinian, he "has felt compelled to be an outspoken advocate for the human rights of Palestinians, including on the campus of Columbia University," and "he is committed to calling on the rest of the world to protect the rights of Palestinians under international law and to stop enabling violence against Palestinians."
Last year's protests at Columbia and other campuses came as Israeli forces responded to a Hamas-led attack on Israel by waging a devstating U.S.-backed military assault on Palestinians in Gaza, resulting in widespread allegations of genocide.
The administration's attempt to deport Khalil and Trump's signal that other pro-Palestinian advocates will face similar attacks have provoked intense outrage. Khalil's legal team includes lawyers with the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which launched proceedings challenging his detention and seeking his return to New York.
"This is clearly an attempt to deport Mahmoud by exploiting a vague and overly broad provision of U.S. immigration law," CCR's Brad Parker told the Post. "This provision, if not reined in, will be exploited to pursue the deportation of anyone who disagrees with the administration's foreign policy agenda. This is not about security, this is about absolute executive power and repression."
Paul O'Brien, executive director at Amnesty International USA, also weighed in with Wednesday statement, calling Khalil's arrest "another attack on human rights by the Trump administration" and emphasizing that "each and every one of us—regardless of immigration status—has the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and due process."
"Targeting and threatening peaceful protesters and their immigration status for the content of their protest, such as advocating for the human rights of Palestinians, is a violation of human rights," he said. "This targeting sends a chilling message to people across this country, on and off campuses, that anyone exercising their rights will be subject to repression, detention, and possible deportation. And for the immigrant communities already living in fear throughout the U.S., they are now only further pushed into the shadows with fear that they could be deported for speaking out."
In addition to demanding Khalil's immediate release, O'Brien called on universities to "take steps to protect their immigrant students from ICE enforcement and ensure that the human rights of all of their students and faculty to protest in support of Palestinian rights and other issues is respected and protected."
As Common Dreams reported earlier Wednesday, Khalil's wife said in a detailed account of their recent experiences that her husband had emailed Columbia University the day before his arrest, seeking legal support, and had never heard back.
Jeffrey C. Isaac, a political science professor at Indiana University Bloomington, argued in a Wednesday opinion piece for Common Dreams that "this is not about Hamas or Palestine or Israel or antisemitism. It is about the crackdown on dissent. Period. Foreign 'agitators,' American 'agitators,' it makes no difference."
"The arrest of Khalil Mahmoud is an offense to every citizen of the United States, and it sets a precedent that endangers us all," Isaac added. "Trump is turning the United States into a police state."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular