62 faith orgs call for Pentagon budget cuts in 2024 budget cycle

Today, 62 faith-based organizations sent a letter to members of Congress calling on legislators to dramatically cut militarized spending, reinvest in the wellbeing of communities, and curtail the harms of the United States militarized foreign policy. You can read the full letter here.

The letter states that “the sky-high war budget siphons resources away from investments in healthcare, housing, and education,” a tradeoff that has large implications for Congress’ negotiations on topline spending this year. The letter was initiated by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization that’s been working to end wars for more than a century. They were joined by 61 other faith groups, including Hindus for Human Rights, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Presbyterian Church USA, and Sojourners. The full list of signing organizations can be found here.

“We know that there is enormous waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon – and that spending exorbitant amounts of money on weapons and war takes away from the funding our communities receive for things like healthcare and housing,” said Tori Bateman, Policy Advocacy Coordinator at AFSC. “This year, we need Congress to commit to cutting Pentagon spending, and maintaining a robust level of spending on human needs programs.”