RESOLUTION 17-05.33
CDP Resolution to Budget for Peacebuilding for People and the Environment
WHEREAS the Administration’s budget has proposed moving $54 billion from human and environmental spending at home and abroad to military spending, bringing military spending to well over 60% of federal discretionary spending, and part of helping alleviate the refugee crisis should be providing greater economic assistance which may prevent wars that create refugees and the President himself admits that some of the military spending of the past 16 years has made us less safe, not safer, and fractions of the proposed military budget could help pay for much top quality education from pre-school through college, help alleviate hunger and starvation on earth, move along the US conversion to clean energy as well as improve the US infrastructure and increase US foreign aid rather than cutting it; and
WHEREAS even 121 retired US generals have written a letter opposing cutting foreign aid and a United States helping to provide clean drinking water, schools, medicine and solar panels to others would be more secure and face far less hostility in the world; and
WHEREAS our environmental and human needs are desperate and urgent, it should be noted that many economists have said that domestic spending has a more powerful positive impact on the economy than military spending which would generate more jobs and tax revenue; now
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party urges the United States Congress to move our tax dollars in exactly the opposite direction proposed by the President, to ensure we do our best to meet human and environmental needs; and
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party send this resolution to all Democratic California members of the House of Representatives and Senate for guidance when deliberating policy decisions.
Authors: Jerilyn Stapleton, AD46; Nancy Merritt, AD15; Lily Marie-Mora, AD1
Sponsored by California Peace Alliance
