Congressional offices will be paying special attention to phone calls coming in this week on the Defense Appropriations bill, so call your Representative today! Here’s what you do:
- Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative’s office.
- Tell the person who picks up or your Rep’s voice mailbox, “Hello, my name is _______, I live at _______. I urge Rep _______ to support amendments to the Defense Appropriations bill that would cut the Pentagon budget, end the war in Afghanistan, and draw down US troop levels in Europe.”
Amendments expected to cut the military budget include:
- Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) and Barney Frank (D-MA) amendment to cut $1.1 billion (a freeze at FY12 levels) from the military budget;
- An amendment to cut $7 billion to align the bill to spending caps under the Budget Control Act;
- Barbara Lee amendment to cut $19 billion, corresponding to program cuts proposed by Project on Defense Alternatives and the Cato Institute.
Amendments expected to end or curtail the war in Afghanistan include:
- Barbara Lee amendment to cut all funding for the war except for what is needed for a safe and responsible drawdown;
- Walter Jones and Rosa DeLauro amendment preventing the use of funds past 2014 in support of any mission that does not have explicit Congressional approval.
And when you’re done, report your call below.