National Day of Action to rein in wasteful Pentagon spending!

Check out the event toolkit below including posters you can print for your local event:

(All below documents are in this Google Folder -- Pull the Pork from the Pentagon 2/27 Toolkit. Original materials must be downloaded in order to edit or view in their orginal format.)

• Pull the Pork from the Pentagon Template Flyer – add your event details, print and use to promote your event.
• Pentagon Media Advisory – add your event details and print or email to promote your event to the local press.
• Pentagon Talking Points – stop paying for the things we can’t afford so that we can afford the things we need.
• Pentagon Fact Sheet – news you can use.
• Pentagon Grassroots Messaging – includes words to use and words to avoid when discussing this issue.
• Pentagon Validator Quotes – Quotes from military leaders, Republicans and even some defense contractors explaining that, yes, we can rein in wasteful Pentagon spending while maintaining a strong defense and taking care of our troops.
• Pull the Pork from the Pentagon Poster  –  Click here to download and print for your event.
• Pull the Pork Sharable Image– image to add to your website or share on social media.
• Pull the Pork from the Pentagon Poster and fill in YOUR priorities  – Click here to download, add your priorities and print for your event.
• Black and White Pull the Pork from the Pentagon Poster and fill in YOUR priorities –  Click here to download, add your priorities and print for your event.

State-by-state data and fact sheets:

• Our friends at the National Priorities Project have prepared state by state fact sheets on sequestration, the Pentagon and the states. Click the link to view and download your state's data: http://costofwar.com/publications/2013/sequestration-pentagon-and-states/ 

• Highlights of the release focus on critical domestic programs that could see their funding cut if sequestration goes into effect, and the impact that modest reductions in Pentagon spending could have to safeguard these programs, such as:

  • A $50 billion cut in Pentagon spending could fund five years of Community Development Block Grants AND five years of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) AND four years of Homeless Assistance Grants.
  • Military spending has grown by 35 percent since 2002, 48 percent if you include war costs. Domestic discretionary spending grew by only 8 percent over that period.
  • Funding for FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program has been cut by 53 percent over the last three years. Sequestration would reduce the program’s $100 million FY2013 proposed budget by $5.1 million.
  • At the University of Virginia the Virginia share of total projected Pentagon spending for Fiscal Year 2013, $16 billion, would fund all in-state expenses of a four-year education for each incoming freshman class for the next 46.3 years.
  • http://costofwar.com/publications/2013/sequestration-pentagon-and-states/ 
• The Coalition on Human Needs has also prepared a resource detailing the potential impact of March 1 sequestration cuts, available here for all 50 states: http://www.chn.org/background/save-state-fact-sheets/

Did you know? 

• Between 2006 and 2011, defense contractors enjoyed a 10% increase in taxpayer dollars from the federal government, from $101 billion to $113 billion
• Between 2006 and 2011, the top five defense contractors, collectively, cut 3% of their jobs while being awarded 10% more in taxpayer dollars
• The head of Northrop Grumman makes $26 million a year, followed by the heads of Lockheed Martin ($25.4 million) and Boeing ($23 million)
• Nearly one in five of our federal budget dollars are going to the Pentagon — that’s roughly $660 billion a year and more than what the next 19 countries spend combined.
• We can reduce the bloated Pentagon budget by $50-$100 billion a year without harming our national security or our troops.
• We start by ending corporate welfare for Pentagon contractors and their CEOs.

Other Resources:

Check out this video from our friends at Friends Committee on National Legislation: Catastrophic Pentagon Cuts? Not Really.