{"id":20761,"date":"2020-07-22T17:18:59","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T17:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/22\/progressive-effort-to-cut-defense-fails-twice-in-congress\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:52:14","slug":"progressive-effort-to-cut-defense-fails-twice-in-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/07\/22\/progressive-effort-to-cut-defense-fails-twice-in-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressive effort to cut defense fails twice in Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Congress went two-for-two swatting down measures to slash the national security budget by $74 billion<\/a>, rejecting a proposal Wednesday from Sen. Bernie Sanders to redirect the money toward domestic needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate voted 23-77 against an amendment to its version of the $740.5 billion annual defense policy bill<\/a>. Progressives floated the plan to use defense dollars (excluding salaries and health care of military personnel) to address the pandemic\u2019s economic fallout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amendment\u2019s sponsors argued the social spending would better align with people\u2019s needs and views, and that national security should be redefined in the wake of the global pandemic. They said the military budget is loaded with waste and unjustly benefits defense contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven all the unprecedented crisis the country faces, now is not the time to increase the Pentagon\u2019s bloated $740 billion budget,\u201d said Sanders, I-Vt. \u201cAt a time when 30 million Americans are in danger of losing their jobs, now is not the time to be spending more on national defense than we did during the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Korean War.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t