{"id":1602,"date":"2020-12-09T10:59:17","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T10:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=136009"},"modified":"2020-12-09T10:59:17","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T10:59:17","slug":"ilhan-omar-rips-congress-for-approving-740-5-billion-bill-to-appease-defense-contractors-while-skimping-on-covid-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/09\/ilhan-omar-rips-congress-for-approving-740-5-billion-bill-to-appease-defense-contractors-while-skimping-on-covid-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilhan Omar Rips Congress for Approving $740.5 Billion Bill to ‘Appease Defense Contractors’ While Skimping on Covid Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After the Democrat-controlled House late Tuesday overwhelmingly approved<\/a> a $740.5 billion budget for the Pentagon for fiscal year 2021, Rep. Ilhan Omar slammed the warped priorities that have led lawmakers to pass with few objections a “bill to appease defense contractors and special interests” while skimping on badly needed coronavirus relief.<\/p>\n

“We should be investing our resources here at home\u2014not increasing our already exorbitant Pentagon budget.”
\u2014Rep. Ilhan Omar<\/p>\n

“It is unconscionable to pass a Pentagon budget that continues to fund unnecessary projects and endless wars during a time of widespread suffering across our country,” the Minnesota Democrat said in a statement<\/a>. “Thousands of Minnesotans are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. We should be investing our resources here at home\u2014not increasing our already exorbitant Pentagon budget.”<\/p>\n

Omar was one just 37 House Democrats to oppose the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed by a vote of 335-78\u2014a veto-proof majority. The legislation is expected to easily clear the Senate despite President Donald Trump’s threats to veto<\/a> the measure over objections unrelated to the size of the proposed Pentagon budget.<\/p>\n

See the full roll call for the House vote here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“This bill further commits our servicemembers to escalations abroad\u2014including a now-two-decade old unpopular war in Afghanistan,” Omar said. “Every dollar we spend on endless wars is another missed opportunity to invest in our communities. Shamefully, this bill does nothing to stop arms sales to some of the most corrupt and brutal regimes in the world, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”<\/p>\n

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If Congress can afford to spend $740.5 billion on a Pentagon Authorization bill, we can afford stimulus checks for the American people.<\/p>\n

Congress should focus on responding to the urgent needs of the American people\u2014not passing a bill to appease defense contractors. pic.twitter.com\/ib705TRddY<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) December 9, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Passage of the sprawling defense bill came as congressional leaders and the White House continued to negotiate the details of a coronavirus relief package that progressive lawmakers have decried as woefully inadequate<\/a> to address the needs of countless sick, hungry, and eviction-prone Americans.<\/p>\n

A $908 billion bipartisan relief framework unveiled last week would not provide direct stimulus payments<\/a> to U.S. households, while an $916 billion offer put forth<\/a> by the White House late Tuesday would not provide a weekly boost to unemployment benefits. Both plans fall well short of the $3-4.5 trillion stimulus that experts say is needed<\/a> to relieve widespread suffering and prevent a prolonged economic recession.<\/p>\n

“That we can find the mon\u00adey for war but not for coro\u00adn\u00adavirus relief expos\u00ades the moral rot at the cen\u00adter of U.S. pol\u00adi\u00adtics, a rot that must be dug out and expunged if we are to get through this crisis.”
\u2014Sarah Lazare, In These Times<\/em><\/p>\n

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) joined Omar in voting against the NDAA on Tuesday, declaring<\/a> that Congress “should be cutting down the Pentagon’s budget\u2014not increasing it… again.”<\/p>\n

“Let’s put the priorities of the American people above the profits of defense contractors,” Pocan added.<\/p>\n

Pocan over the summer led an effort with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to cut the bloated Pentagon budget by 10% and invest the savings in housing, healthcare, and education. As Common Dreams<\/em> reported<\/a> at the time, the amendment ultimately failed thanks to opposition from 139 House Democrats and 185 Republicans. A similar amendment led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was voted down<\/a> in the Senate.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Sarah Lazare of In These Times<\/em> contrasted<\/a> the ongoing “stale\u00admate over coro\u00adn\u00adavirus relief with bipar\u00adti\u00adsan sup\u00adport for the U.S. war machine,” which reliably receives an injection of hundreds of billions of dollars in funding each year with little opposition.<\/p>\n

“We should not allow bipar\u00adti\u00adsan agree\u00adment on mil\u00adi\u00adtary spend\u00ading to sim\u00adply fade into the back\u00adground, as an unre\u00admark\u00adable and immutable fact of U.S. pol\u00adi\u00adtics,” wrote Lazare. “That we can find the mon\u00adey for war but not for coro\u00adn\u00adavirus relief expos\u00ades the moral rot at the cen\u00adter of U.S. pol\u00adi\u00adtics, a rot that must be dug out and expunged if we are to get through this crisis.”<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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