Washington State Senate Rules Committee Members: Pull Senate Joint Memorial 8014 (military spending) to a Vote on the Floor

Pull Senate Joint Memorial 8014 (military spending) to a Vote on the Floor

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Washington State Senate Rules Committee Members.

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Pull Senate Joint Memorial 8014 (military spending) to a Vote on the Floor

Be a part of a historic move that will set a trend for other states of funding human needs, not war and greed! Senate Joint Memorial 8014 now in the Washington State legislature urges President Obama and Congress to immediately stop the war in Afghanistan; bring our troops home and redirect military war spending towards the human needs of the men, women and children of our state and country. It pressures them to provide for the strengthening our the safety net and infrastructure, here, at home instead of increasing U.S. dependency on an economy based in war, death and destruction.
The 1994 U.N. Human Development Report on “Human Security” documented that the higher the ratio of military to non-military government spending was in a country, the more unstable and the more vulnerable its people were to lack of health and education.

Washington State taxpayers have, so far, given over $10 billion in taxes just for the war in Afghanistan, alone.

The National Priorities Project data reports the following estimates:

Olympia $64.5 million, Yakima, $87.3 million, Seattle $990.8 million, Whatcom County $261 million, Chelan County $92 million, Thurston County $406.4 million, Island County 123.9 million.

Potential future costs, such as future medical care for soldiers and veterans wounded in the war, are not included. These figures also do not include additional interest payments on the national debt that result from higher deficits due to war spending.

Soldiers' regular pay is not included but combat pay is included.

These numbers are based on an analysis of legislation in which Congress has allocated money for war and research by the Congressional Research Service which has access to Department of Defense financial reports.

The withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq does not mean the end of U.S. funding for Iraq operations. Likewise, the FY2012 budget includes billions of additional dollars for Iraq and Afghanistan funded through the Department of State.

House Armed Service Committee, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA),

“The time is long overdue for the U.S. to depart [Afghanistan].”

The Seattle Times, March 16, 2011

Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney:

"It's time for us to bring our troops home as soon as we possibly can, only the Afghanis can win Afghanistan's independence from the Taliban."

Republican presidential debate, June 13, 2011

It is Washington state’s responsibility and privilege to set a trend of asserting that true security comes from funding books, not bombs; healthcare, not warfare; green jobs, not grenades. It’s not your responsibility to create a foreign policy plan or exit strategy, but it is your responsibility to assert your people’s needs when they are dying from lack of healthcare, suffering from lack of jobs, children left behind from lack of education, while billions and billions of dollars are being stolen from their pockets to be squandered on more waste.

Please, take a stand during this session and move SJM 8014 to the floor and out of Rules Committee.
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Sincerely,

[Your name]