Friends,
The only Maryland representative who voted against this
monstrous gift to Trump was Jamie Raskin. If you have any interest in
delivering a letter of condemnation to the offices of John Sarbanes and Dutch
Ruppersberger, please let me know. The letter delivery would be sometime
next week.
Kagiso, Max
Thursday, December 12, 2019
'Atrocious': 188 Democrats Join GOP to Hand
Trump $738 Billion Military Budget That Includes 'Space Force'
"It
is Orwellian for Congress to hand over billions of dollars worth of weapons and
bombs to a president waging a horrific, unconstitutional war in Yemen—and call
that progressive."
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/12/atrocious-188-democrats-join-gop-hand-trump-738-billion-military-budget-includes
More than 180 House Democrats joined a
nearly united Republican caucus Wednesday night to pass a sweeping $738 billion
military spending bill that gives President Donald Trump his long-sought
"Space Force," free rein to wage endless wars, and a green light to
continue fueling the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.
"Every member of Congress who voted
to give the most corrupt, unhinged, and unstable president in history $738
billion to fight endless wars...must never tell us that we cannot afford
Medicare for All or a Green New Deal."
—Warren Gunnels, Sanders senior adviser
—Warren Gunnels, Sanders senior adviser
Just 48 members of the House, including
41 Democrats, voted against the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),
which increases the Pentagon budget by $22 billion. The final vote was 377-48.
"This NDAA is atrocious, and it's
very depressing that only 48 members of congress voted against it," tweeted anti-war group CodePink.
In a floor speech ahead of Wednesday's
vote, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the most vocal opponent of the NDAA in the
House, said "there are many things you can call the bill, but it's
Orwellian to call it progressive." Khanna was standing
across the aisle from
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who hailed the measure as "the most
progressive defense bill we have passed in decades."
"Let's speak in facts," said
Khanna. "This defense budget is $120 billion more than what Obama left us
with. That could fund free public college for every American. It could fund
access to high-speed, affordable internet for every American. But it's worse.
The bipartisan amendment to stop the war in Yemen: stripped by the White House.
The bipartisan amendment to stop the war in Iran: stripped by the White
House."
My friend @RepRoKhanna is right: it is Orwellian for Congress to hand over
billions of dollars worth of weapons and bombs to a president waging a
horrific, unconstitutional war in Yemen—and call that progressive
.
According
to the New
York Times, Smith—chairman of the House Armed Services Committee—negotiated
several provisions of the NDAA directly with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law
and senior adviser.
"It was Mr. Kushner who helped
broker a deal to create the Space Force, a chief priority of the president's,
in exchange for the paid parental leave [for federal employees],"
the Times reported Wednesday. "It was also Mr. Kushner
who intervened on measures targeting Saudi Arabia that would have prohibited
arms sales or military assistance to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. He
said they were nonstarters for the White House."
Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) foreign
policy adviser Matt Duss expressed outrage that Democrats allowed Kushner—who
has close ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—to kill an amendment
that would have helped end U.S. complicity in the world's worst humanitarian
crisis.
Congrats to Democratic leadership on getting
outnegotiated by JARED KUSHNER. On a provision that was already passed by
bipartisan majorities in Congress. To end US support for a war that has created
to the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe.
Great goddam job. https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1204909176276869120 …
Great goddam job. https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1204909176276869120 …
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who voted
against the NDAA, noted in a statement that the final version also stripped out
her House-passed amendment that would have repealed the 2002 Iraq Authorization
for Use of Military Force (AUMF).
"With the release of the
Afghanistan Papers, it is especially imperative that we take a hard look at our
military spending and authorizations," said Lee, the only member of
Congress to vote against the war in Afghanistan in 2001. "I can tell you:
it is an appalling, but not shocking read for those of us who have been working
to stop endless war. It's past time to end the longest war in United States
history, withdraw our troops, and bring our servicemembers home."
The 2020 NDAA now heads to the
Republican-controlled Senate, where it is expected to pass. In a tweet ahead of the House vote on
Wednesday, Trump praised the bill and said he would sign it into law
"immediately."
"New rule: Every member of Congress
who voted to give the most corrupt, unhinged, and unstable president in history
$738 billion to fight endless wars, fund a bogus space force, and put our
troops at risk must never tell us that we cannot afford Medicare for All or a
Green New Deal," Warren Gunnels, Sanders' senior adviser, tweeted Wednesday night. "Ever."
Our work
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel
free to republish and share widely.
Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center,
325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email:
mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class has always declared the wars; the
subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to
gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and
everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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