To: Rep. Ted Yoho (FL-3), Rep. Justin Amash (MI-3), Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-5), and Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-2)
@USProgressives, @libertycaucus: Unite to Kill Lockheed-Martin's F-35 Taxpayer Ripoff
Just Foreign Policy
The Congressional Progressive Caucus and the House Liberty Caucus should cooperate to kill Lockheed-Martin's F-35 taxpayer ripoff.
Why is this important?
With Republicans controlling the Presidency and both houses of Congress, reform proposals must be bipartisan to have any hope of success in Washington. Progressive Democrats may not have many Republican allies on some domestic issues, but for cutting the bloated Pentagon-industrial complex, we have potential Republican allies in the House Liberty Caucus. Of 40 Republicans who voted to stop the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia, over half were members of the House Liberty Caucus. [1]
President Trump has called out Lockheed-Martin's F-35 warplane as a huge rip-off of our tax dollars. But jawboning Lockheed-Martin down on a warplane that doesn't work and we don't need anyway would only result in a slightly smaller ripoff. Congress should protect our tax dollars by shutting down the F-35 taxpayer ripoff immediately. The F-35 may never be ready for combat [2], and Pentagon brass are lying when they say there is no alternative. [3,4,5] The Congressional Budget Office says one modest proposal for killing the F-35 - buying different planes, but not fewer planes - would save taxpayers more than $20 billion over a decade. [6] Proposals to shut down the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which would likely harm renewable energy systems in rural areas, would save $2 billion a year - roughly the same amount. [7]
Urge Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders like Keith Ellison and House Liberty Caucus leaders like Justin Amash to work together to kill the F-35 by signing our petition.
References:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/obama-heeding-close-house_b_10516480.html
2. http://www.pogo.org/straus/issues/weapons/2016/f-35-may-never-be-ready-for-combat.html
3. http://www.pogo.org/straus/issues/weapons/2017/f-35-not-too-big-to-fail-twitter-trump-rattles-defense-industry.html
4. http://www.taxpayer.net/library/article/the-unaffordable-f-35-budget-history-and-alternatives
5. http://nsnetwork.org/cms/assets/uploads/2015/08/F-35_FINAL.pdf
6. https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/52142-breakout-chapter32.pdf
7. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/315132-dems-blast-trump-plans-for-deep-spending-cuts
President Trump has called out Lockheed-Martin's F-35 warplane as a huge rip-off of our tax dollars. But jawboning Lockheed-Martin down on a warplane that doesn't work and we don't need anyway would only result in a slightly smaller ripoff. Congress should protect our tax dollars by shutting down the F-35 taxpayer ripoff immediately. The F-35 may never be ready for combat [2], and Pentagon brass are lying when they say there is no alternative. [3,4,5] The Congressional Budget Office says one modest proposal for killing the F-35 - buying different planes, but not fewer planes - would save taxpayers more than $20 billion over a decade. [6] Proposals to shut down the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which would likely harm renewable energy systems in rural areas, would save $2 billion a year - roughly the same amount. [7]
Urge Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders like Keith Ellison and House Liberty Caucus leaders like Justin Amash to work together to kill the F-35 by signing our petition.
References:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/obama-heeding-close-house_b_10516480.html
2. http://www.pogo.org/straus/issues/weapons/2016/f-35-may-never-be-ready-for-combat.html
3. http://www.pogo.org/straus/issues/weapons/2017/f-35-not-too-big-to-fail-twitter-trump-rattles-defense-industry.html
4. http://www.taxpayer.net/library/article/the-unaffordable-f-35-budget-history-and-alternatives
5. http://nsnetwork.org/cms/assets/uploads/2015/08/F-35_FINAL.pdf
6. https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/52142-breakout-chapter32.pdf
7. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/315132-dems-blast-trump-plans-for-deep-spending-cuts