Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has announced his staunch opposition to the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which proposes a nearly $850 billion Pentagon budget, Common Dreams reports.
In a scathing op-ed for The Guardian, Sanders characterized the spending as “outrageous,” particularly given the significant economic hardship faced by many Americans.
“We do not need to spend almost a trillion dollars on the military, while half a million Americans are homeless and children go hungry,” Sanders wrote.
He further emphasized the need to heed the warnings of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower regarding the undue influence of the military-industrial complex.
The 1,813-page NDAA, unveiled by lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, pushes annual US military spending inexorably toward the $1 trillion mark, despite the Pentagon’s repeated failure to pass an audit. The US currently spends more on its military than the next nine countries combined, accounting for over half of the nation’s yearly discretionary spending, according to the National Priorities Project.
Sanders highlighted concerns about widespread fraud, waste, and cost overruns within the defense system. He cited analyses suggesting that over 50% of the Pentagon’s budget flows to private contractors who, he claims, routinely overcharge. He pointed to recent multi-million dollar fines levied against Raytheon and Lockheed Martin for fraudulent billing practices and the exorbitant cost overruns associated with the F-35 fighter jet as examples of this systemic issue.
While the sheer size of the proposed budget presents a challenge to the bill’s passage in the divided Congress, opposition is also fueled by other controversial provisions. The NDAA includes language that would permanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors, a move sharply criticized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). HRC President Kelley Robinson said that this provision “strips away access to medical care for families that members of our armed forces are counting on,” forcing service members to choose between military service and their children’s healthcare.
