Campaign for Liberty has joined a coalition letter opposing the increase in Overseas Contingency Operations Fund (OCO) contained in the National Defense Authorizaion Act (NDAA).
Since OCO spending is considered "emergency spending," these funds do not count against the budget caps. So OCO enables the defense hawks to increase defense spending while pretending to be complying with the law.
The House is voting on NDAA tommorow, so Campaign for Liberty members should call their Represenatives and tell them to oppose NDAA.
Here is the text of the letter that will be sent to Congress today:
December 1, 2016
Dear Senator/ Representative,
The recently released conference report for the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize an additional $3.2 billion unrequested by the Pentagon, effectively exceeding the spending limits set in place previously by Congress as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. As organizations representing Americans across the ideological spectrum, we are writing to voice our disagreement with this tactic.
The very real challenges facing our military are not the result of a lack of funds. They are the result of years of failing to make necessary, tough choices our nation’s security requires. If Congress votes to simply throw additional billions of dollars at this problem by using a budgetary gimmick involving the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, you will do nothing to solve these problems. Rather, you will simply be guaranteeing another year of massive spending at the Pentagon. Refusing to make hard choices and trade-offs does not strengthen our security, it undermines it.
Earlier this year, many of our organizations expressed our opposition to the House Armed Services Committee’s draft NDAA which included an $18 billion gimmick to fund the OCO account above levels previously agreed upon. What was a bad idea at $18 billion is still a bad idea at $3.2 billion. We strongly urge you to scrap any plans to fund the OCO account above the levels set in existing law and finally pursue a path of fiscal responsibility at the Pentagon.
Sincerely,
Campaign for Liberty
Center for International Policy
Council for a Livable WorldCouncil for Citizens Against Government Waste
FreedomWorks
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Just Foreign Policy
National Priorities Project
National Taxpayers Union
Peace Action
Project on Government Oversight
Taxpayers for Common Sense
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Taxpayers United of America
The Libertarian Institute
The London Center
United for Peace and Justice
Win Without War
Women's Action for New Directions
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PDFTags: NDAA, Defense spending