March 5, 2025, on Christians’ Ash Wednesday, hundreds of leaders from various faiths gathered in Washington D.C. to condemn Republican proposed budget plans that would make devastating cuts to social programs and provide up to $346 billion in additional funding for the Pentagon and Trump’s ruthless mass deportation plans - and an astonishing $4.5 trillion in tax giveaways to the ultrawealthy.   

A long and hard fought win offers us a pivotal moment to advocate and mobilize for the fulfillment of human needs and protection of all life - over the expansion of nuclear arms production.  

US military bases are wasteful, harmful, and expensive - and resistance to them is justified. On February 23, 2025, people gathered for an international day of action to call for the closure of military bases around the world. 

If policymakers wanted to actually improve the health of Americans they would be making larger investments in expanding food security and healthcare programs– not the military.

Militarism and fossil fuel dependency are inextricably linked– yet world leaders ignored this reality when they gathered to hash out global climate goals at the so-called ‘peace’ COP. When world leaders drop the ball this badly, it’s up to us to lead the way forward. 

Last month, people across the southeastern U.S. lost their homes, communities, and lives to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene. To protect our shared future, decarbonization and demilitarization must go hand-in-hand. 

The effort to produce plutonium pits is racking up to be a costly endeavor, straining an already military-heavy federal budget– for something we don’t need or want.  

On the afternoon of March 28, 2024, an F35-B Lightning II fighter jet crashed into a hillside in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The nearly brand-new aircraft, demolished and ablaze, was previously worth roughly $109 million. Like many New Mexicans, the costly damage made me wonder, what else could that money have gone to? 

Globally, 2023 proved to be a record breaking year for military spending. 

Each year Congress gives more than 50% of its discretionary budget to the Pentagon. and one of the most wasteful uses of this money is on contract spending.