Fw: Federal Budget Choices: State Security or Human Security Imperatives? - FCNL

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Volk" <joevolk@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 5:21 PM
Subject: Federal Budget Choices: State Security or Human Security
Imperatives? - FCNL

We call it a "shoot and spend" budget. President Bush this
week proposed a $2.7 trillion budget for fiscal year 2007. He has
chosen to increase spending on new weapons systems, the special forces
(unconventional fighters), and other military programs. To pay for this
war fighting, he has proposed draconian reductions in the civilian
programs of the federal government. As reported, the $439.3 billion
allocated to the Pentagon in this budget is a 6.9 percent increase over
fiscal year 2006. According to an estimate by the Washington Post,
President Bush has increased military spending about 45 percent over
the level when he took office five years ago. The budget analysis FCNL
will release later this month will examine military spending in several
government agencies and, as a result, may show a different and higher
number. Col. Dan Smith has prepared a analysis of the military strategy
behind the Bush budget: http://www.fcnl.org/smith/budget07.htm.

The president has proposed a budget driven by fear of
"terrorists" and by the assumption that military muscle is
the primary tool for creating global stability, world peace,
international security, and safety for the people who live in this
country. The president's budget trades off human needs here and abroad
for aggressive U.S. military strategies and war. As a practical matter,
these strategies have been tried and arguably have made matters worse
-- witness Iraq, the post-Katrina Gulf Coast, and the ascendency of al
Qaeda franchises worldwide -- while making profits for war and
"reconstruction" industries. Congress should not accept the
president's budget choices, both for these practical reasons and for
moral reasons.

Budgets reflect the moral choices of the nation. The Constitution
provides Congress with the responsibility to make the final decisions
on government spending. Grounded in a recognition of the failures of
military strategies over the last three years, Congress should craft a
budget that reflects the moral values of our people. War spending
drives up the mounting federal debt and diverts resources from human
needs programs both here and abroad. Our observation is not -- as the
president charges -- "isolationist." On the contrary, we urge
federal spending for engagement with the world through peaceful
civilian programs. Domestic programs, especially those with a proven
track record of success, should not be cut back to provide yet more
money for war. That's a bad deal for everyone, except the military
industry. Congress should construct a federal government spending plan
that reduces funding for the military and increases money for
international diplomacy and efforts to build human security at home.
Urge your members of Congress to craft a moral budget:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8461016&type=CO

No More "Enron bookkeeping." As he has in previous years, the
president refused to include in his budget estimates the real costs of
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, preferring to fund these military
operations largely through "emergency supplemental" spending
requests. That is, he does not want that spending shown in his budget.
Congress has already approved $320 billion for these two wars, and the
Pentagon announced this week it will seek an additional $70 billion in
funding for this year. The 2007 budget also includes $50 billion in
"bridge" financing to cover ongoing costs in Iraq. Congress
should condition any further funding for these wars on the U.S. taking
clear steps toward the withdrawal of all U.S. military troops and bases
from Iraq. Urge your members of Congress to reject any further funding
for war not tied to a strategy for withdrawal from Iraq.

Money for prevention, not for war. The president's budget includes $439
billion for the Pentagon, but only $35 billion in funding for the State
Department and foreign assistance programs. The president has again
proposed spending $3 billion on foreign aid channeled through the
Millennium Challenge Corporation, but he cut funding for traditional
development assistance programs. Overall, spending on diplomacy and
foreign aid is at about the same level as two years ago. Urge Congress
to pull the purse strings on the administration's accelerating
militarism and shift funds toward SMART Security approaches that focus
on sensible, multilateral, U.S. responses to the escalating violence in
the world.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Urge your representative and senators to reject the president's budget
and craft a federal government spending plan that recognizes that more
military spending will not bring the U.S. more security at home or
abroad.

Contact your members of Congress directly from FCNL's web site. We've
provided a sample letter that you can edit and send to your
representatives at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8461016&type=CO.

MORE RESOURCES

FCNL will be posting additional analysis of the federal government
budget on our web site in the coming days. Go to http://www.fcnl.org
and select the "Budget" link on the left hand side of the
page.

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________________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation
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fcnl@fcnl.org * http://www.fcnl.org
phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
We seek a society with equity and justice for all
We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored.
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