FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 22, 2015
CONTACT:
Stephen Miles, Advocacy Director
[email protected], (504) 289-3594
The Win Without War coalition’s Advocacy Director, Stephen Miles, released the following statement applauding President Obama’s veto of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“Today, President Obama did the right thing by vetoing the NDAA. By attempting to add $38 billion to the Pentagon’s already bloated budget through a massive slush fund, Congressional Republicans have once again failed to demonstrate basic fiscal responsibility. Rather than identifying modest savings from the tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending at the Pentagon, Congressional Republicans loaded up this year’s NDAA with even more pork and waste, funding numerous programs well beyond what our military leaders requested.
“But today’s veto is about more than just budgetary gimmicks. This year’s NDAA also features the latest effort by some in Congress to keep open forever the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The President and our nation’s military leaders have stated repeatedly that it is time to close Gitmo. Rather than setting up arbitrary barriers to responsible national security policy, Congress should work with the President on a responsible plan to end this stain on America’s moral legacy once and forever.”
###
Win Without War is a coalition of national organizations with diverse constituencies originally founded in opposition to the Iraq War. The coalition remains active in opposition to the continued U.S. war in Afghanistan, the dangerous rush to war with Iran, and the underlying national security strategy on which these conflicts are based. We seek a fundamentally new approach to meet the national security challenges of the United States that is consistent with our nation’s highest values.
For more information, visit www.winwithoutwar.org.