Join MCC in supporting an international Arms Trade Treaty

May 17, 2012

Armed Violence in Numbers

2 of 3 people killed by armed violence die in countries at peace

2 bullets are produced each year for each person on the planet

700 people are estimated to be killed with arms each day in Latin America

As MCC workers in Latin America, we see firsthand the injuries, deaths, and suffering caused by guns and other weapons. The current violence in Mexico and Central America, the on-going internal armed conflict in Colombia, and violence in marginal urban neighbourhoods throughout the region are evidence of the easy availability of weapons…

Read the entire blog entry on the MCC Latin America Advocacy Blog. To add your support to a petition in favor of the treaty, follow this link: http://www.controlarms.org/home.

Leave a Comment » | Issues, Militarism | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

House supports increase for Pentagon

May 11, 2012

On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee approved this year’s defense authorization bill. The bill increases the Pentagon’s budget by $4 billion over the president’s request and sets Pentagon spending at $8 billion more than allowed in last August’s Budget Control Act.

While Congress is moving to slash other programs in the name of deficit reduction, this bill funds a number of programs that even the Pentagon has said they don’t want or need. One example is a missile-defense site on the East Coast which would cost billions of dollars over the coming years. The bill would also increase funding for nuclear weapons programs. The bill is likely to move to the floor of the full House next week.

Support for this bill is particularly glaring in light of the House vote yesterday on a proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). Ryan’s bill replaced “sequestration” cuts to the Pentagon with cuts instead to other programs, including nutrition and health care. A Democratic alternative which was not allowed to come up for a vote would have reduced the deficit by limiting subsidies to the oil and gas industries and increasing taxes on millionaires. Neither version–Republican nor Democratic–made any cuts to the Pentagon, which already receives more than half of all discretionary spending.

Read more on MCC’s take on military spending.

 

 

2 Comments | Issues, Legislative Updates, Militarism | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

Letter urges U.S. to join Mine Ban Treaty

May 9, 2012

Photo: Jenna Stoltzfus/MCC

Mennonite Central Committee U.S. and Mennonite Church USA have joined dozens of organizations in calling on the U.S. government to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.

We write now to encourage you strongly to make a decision on future U.S. landmine policy as soon as possible, and to announce that the United States will accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. This is a crucial humanitarian decision that should not be put off any longer, or postponed during a busy election year.

Read the full letter here.

Leave a Comment » | Issues, Militarism, Sign-on Letters | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

Support diplomacy, not war, with Iran

April 24, 2012

Photo: Doug Hostetter/MCC

Talks held between Iran and the P5+1 (U.S., U.K., Russia, France, China, Germany) on April 14 were described as “positive” and a subsequent round of discussions is set for late May in Baghdad.

This is a welcome step, as diplomacy is essential if the differences between the U.S. and Iranian governments are ever to be resolved. Congress’ actions can either undermine or support diplomatic talks. It is critical that they hear constituent support for diplomacy.

Read more and encourage your Members of Congress to support diplomacy with Iran and to oppose actions that would undermine diplomatic efforts.

Leave a Comment » | Action Alerts, Issues, Legislative Updates, Middle East, Militarism | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

A proposal to give the Pentagon even more

March 21, 2012

DoD photo, via Wikimedia Commons

Yesterday Rep. Paul Ryan, Chair of the House Budget Committee, released his budget plan for Fiscal Year 2013.

Despite the fact that groups across the political spectrum have argued that the Pentagon could handle much bigger cuts than have been proposed, Ryan’s plan would undo the $55 billion in sequestration cuts for the Pentagon, while making deeper cuts to domestic programs.

In fact, far from cutting military spending, Ryan’s House proposal would give the Pentagon $8 billion more next year than is allowed by last August’s budget agreement. At the same time his budget would give the remaining domestic discretionary programs $27 billion less than the amount set by the August agreement. If his proposal passes the House, these funding levels will be hard to reconcile with the Senate, where the Budget Committee chair has said he plans to stick with the caps set in the August agreement.

To learn more, read this commentary from the Project on Government Oversight. Check out the current issue of our newsletter, Some take pride in chariots.

Leave a Comment » | Issues, Legislative Updates, Militarism | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

Just how big is the U.S. military budget compared to other countries?

March 19, 2012

This new graphic from The International Institute for Strategic Studies puts the U.S. military budget up against that of other countries. It speaks for itself.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies

Leave a Comment » | Issues, Militarism | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

Purchasing power

March 16, 2012

Photo: U.S. Air Force

by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

The U.S. military spends about $4 billion on recruitment each year. Reducing this amount by 10 percent would allow the U.S. to nearly double its funding for maternal and child health programs overseas. Currently U.S.-funded maternal and child health programs save the lives of an estimated 6 million children each year through immunizations and supplements to address malnutrition, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development…

Read the entire article on Third Way Cafe here and then send an email to your Members of Congress asking that they reduce Pentagon spending.

Leave a Comment » | Articles, Global Economic Justice, Issues, Militarism, Office Publications | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

« Previous Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 35 other followers