The document discusses US military spending and proposed cuts. It shows that 58% of the discretionary budget goes to the military, more than many other areas combined. It proposes cutting $960 billion from the Pentagon budget over 10 years by reducing nuclear weapons and canceling unnecessary projects. This could save money and be redirected to job creation through other programs like education and infrastructure.

1. The Proposed Discretionary Budget Military Spending 58% Environment, Energy & Science 6% Transportation 2% Income Security & Labor 2% International Affairs 4% Health 5% Housing and Community 5% Government 6% Food 1% Education 6% 5% Veterans' Benefits $1.24 Trillion www.nationalpriorities.org

2. Brief Look at Proposed 2012 Military Spending $553 billion for Pentagon base budget (43% increase over a decade) $118 billion for war $19.3 billion for nuclear weapons (21% increase over a decade) $7.8 billion for “misc.” $6.6 billion in military aid to “foreign” nations www.nationalpriorities.org

3. Cutting Pentagon Spending

4. Saving $960 bn in One Decade: Rethink, Reset, Reform Reduce number of nuclear weapons and delivery systems = $194 billion Cancel Cold War and ill-performing weapons research, development and procurement = $139 billion Reduce active-duty troops in Europe & Asia & similar cuts in Air Force and Navy = $394 billion Sustainable Defense Task Force Debts, Deficits, and Defense: A Way Forward

5. Impact: The Discretionary Budget Over Time Domestic Military Recovery Act Billions of $2010 International Affairs www.nationalpriorities.org

6. Brief Look at Waste, Fraud, and Abuse In a 10.6 letter from Tom Carper to Leon Panetta DOD Inspector General notes inability to recoup approx. $200 million in delinquent debts due to poor (basic) record keeping Commission on Wartime Contracting found $30bn to $60bn in largely avoidable DOD waste and fraud related to Iraq and Afghanistan wars Government Accountability Office found $402bn in total major weapons system overruns ; up from $42bn in 2000 www.nationalpriorities.org

7. Impact on Employment Political Economy Research Institute, 2009 What does $1 billion get us in terms of jobs Direct Jobs Indirect Jobs Induced Jobs 11,600 17,100 19,600 29,100

8. Trade Offs: Pentagon Spending v. Proposed Program Cuts FY2012 Pentagon Proposed Budget (w/o wars, nukes) – $533 Billion Proposed FY2012 Cuts Medicare ($19.6 billion) – 13 Days CDBG ($2.2 billion) – 35 Hours LIHEAP ($2.5 billion) – 40 Hours TANF ($3.98 billion) – 63 Hours www.nationalpriorities.org

9. Trade Offs: Creating Jobs FY2012 Pentagon Proposed Budget (w/o wars, nukes) – $533 Billion 2.7 million Elementary School Teachers AND 3.1 million Firefighters AND 2.6 million Police or Sheriff's Patrol Officers www.nationalpriorities.org

10. Trade Offs: Your Tax Dollars Weapons: 7.6 pennies of every individual federal income tax dollar 2.5X more than CHIP: 2/7 of one penny TANF: 2/3 of one penny Section 8: 1/3 of one penny CDBG: 1/5 of one penny WIC: 1/4 of one penny Head Start: 1/4 of one penny Weatherization Asst: 2/3 of one penny www.nationalpriorities.org

11. Take Aways Military spending is growing, as always, and is just too big to ignore Wider recognition that military spending pressures funding for other needed programs – including assistance to state budgets Pentagon spending is “un-auditable” Military industries are worried about cuts and are pushing back