{"id":54037,"date":"2020-07-20T21:08:39","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T21:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/20\/defund-pentagon-effort-holds-message-for-biden\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:00:22","slug":"defund-pentagon-effort-holds-message-for-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/07\/20\/defund-pentagon-effort-holds-message-for-biden\/","title":{"rendered":"Defund Pentagon effort holds message for Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 Legislation from progressive Democrats to slash authorized defense spending by 10 percent is expected to fail in the Senate this week, with uncertain prospects in the House. But their hope is to advance an internal debate over defense spending, should Democrats take back the White House or the upper chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and House Progressive Caucus co-chair <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/05\/19\/house-progressives-demand-pentagon-cuts-citing-pandemic\/\" target=_blank>Mark Pocan<\/a>, D-Wis., are offering amendments that would cut each chamber\u2019s $740.5 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/07\/01\/big-pay-raise-limits-on-troop-moves-highlight-defense-budget-measure\/\" target=_blank>FY21 National Defense Authorization Act<\/a> by about $74 billion. In recent days, advocates published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2020\/07\/16\/defund-the-pentagon-the-liberal-case-364648\" target=_blank>multiple<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2020\/07\/16\/defund-the-pentagon-the-conservative-case-366066\" target=_blank>op-eds<\/a> in support, and on Sunday the Congressional Progressive Caucus <a href=\"https:\/\/cpc-grijalva.house.gov\/press-releases\/progressive-caucus-announces-position-on-ndaa-calls-on-congress-to-address-outofcontrol-pentagon-spending\/\" target=_blank>announced<\/a> the cut as its official position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans, who hold a majority in the Senate, are, for the most part, fighting the amendments in both chambers. Reducing defense spending would undercut the bill\u2019s deterrent effect on Russia and China, which have increased their own defense budgets, said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we cut our defense budget now, we play right into their hands,\u201d Inhofe said in a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2020\/07\/02\/dont-allow-a-vocal-fringe-minority-to-cut-our-much-needed-defense-investments\/\" target=_blank>op-ed in the conservative Daily Signal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/07\/02\/big-pay-raise-limits-on-troop-moves-highlight-defense-budget-measure\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"219\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6256340.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Big pay raise, limits on troop moves highlight defense budget measure<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The  $740.5 billion defense authorization bill passed the House Armed Services Committee with bipartisan support.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Americans grappling personally with the effects of the coronavirus on their daily lives, Democrats argue that cutting the defense budget to fund domestic needs has become a mainstream policy. (The Sanders amendment would divert defense dollars to a domestic federal grant program to fund health care, housing, childcare and educational opportunities for cities and towns experiencing a poverty rate of 25 percent or more.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, Pocan announced new polling from the progressive think tank Data for Progress showing that, by a 2-to-1 margin, people support a 10 percent cut in the defense budget. Fifty-seven percent of those polled support the idea and only 25 percent oppose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe polling is abundantly clear: the American people know that new nukes, cruise missiles, or F-35s won\u2019t help them get their next unemployment check, or pay next month\u2019s rent, or put food on their family\u2019s table, or pay for the costs of healthcare in a global pandemic,\u201d Pocan said in his announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4000\" height=\"2589\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1192771071.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1192771071.jpg.jpg 4000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1192771071.jpg.jpg?resize=300,194 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1192771071.jpg.jpg?resize=768,497 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1192771071.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,663 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1192771071.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,994 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1192771071.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1326 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; JANUARY 09:  Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) speaks during the &#8220;No War With Iran&#8221; Rally for Moveon.org at the U.S. Capitol on January 9, 2020 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Leigh Vogel\/Getty Images for MoveOn.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Separately, Pocan <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2020\/06\/24\/defense-spending-coronavirus-bernie-sanders\/\" target=_blank>told The Intercept<\/a> he saw the amendments as part of \u201can organizing campaign around the size of the defense budget, adding: \u201cNext year may be the best chance, with a Democratic president and maybe a Democratic Senate, so we really are going to do everything we can this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Progressives have swayed at least one important Democrat already. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has voted for every Pentagon budget increase of the Trump administration, but he announced his support for Sanders\u2019 amendment when it comes to the floor this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sanders, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2015\/01\/16\/sen-sanders-no-defense-increases-at-expense-of-domestic-programs\/\" target=_blank>long championed<\/a> cuts for the military, but he believes the argument has new resonance now, said Sanders foreign policy aide, Matt Duss. After quickly allocating $5 trillion to respond to the coronavirus and its economic damage, Congress and the White House have been working for weeks on a new tranche of aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEspecially in this moment when a lot of Americans are out of work, they\u2019re struggling, the idea that the U.S. Congress can send another quarter of a trillion dollars to the Pentagon without battling an eye\u2015while not being able to get them more relief\u2015that\u2019s pretty stark,\u201d Duss said Monday. \u201cI think that\u2019s something the pandemic has made very immediate and understandable to a lot of Americans in a way that it might not have been previously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond congressional Democrats, Duss acknowledged that strong votes this week, even if the amendments fail, could send a message to former Vice President Joe Biden, who\u2019s running for president. Biden has <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/05\/11\/biden-left-leaning-groups-slash-pentagon-budget\/\" target=_blank>reportedly<\/a> been under pressure from left-leaning groups to slash defense spending, if elected, with mixed results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat it says to Joe Biden is there is a substantial lobby within your own coalition that says we have to reset priorities,\u201d said Gordon Adams, who led defense budgeting under the Clinton administration. \u201cWe know we have a public health crisis that\u2019s been inadequately managed, and it\u2019s going to lead to changes in the healthcare system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Should Biden win, he would have his best window early in his administration, before federal agencies are fully staffed, to aggressively pursue Democratic budget priorities, according to Adams. \u201cThat first year is crucial because they have to submit their own budget, there isn\u2019t an outgoing budget that\u2019s been submitted,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/06\/10\/defense-bill-to-include-billion-dollars-for-pandemic-response-and-preparedness\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6193730.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Defense bill to include billion dollars for pandemic response and preparedness<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The House\u2019s forthcoming NDAA may include a billion-dollar pandemic response and preparedness fund, in part to boost domestic production of medical equipment, like ventilators and face masks.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jim Manley, who was Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid\u2019s senior communications adviser, said it seems likely Democrats will have a significant debate over spending priorities next year, especially if the Senate flips and Sanders becomes chairman of the Budget Committee. But the size of the votes this week will be what determines how much pressure a President Biden would be under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will see how the votes go, but I am not sure that this is where a majority of House and Senate Democrats are,\u201d Manley said. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting that Sen. Schumer has sided with the progressives here but I don\u2019t think that anyone should be under the illusion that he is going to whip his caucus or do much of anything to get Senate Democrats on board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever the strategic goals, Republicans are arguing the amendments make for abysmal policymaking. In the House floor debate over the Pocan amendment Monday, several likened it to sequestration budget cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House Armed Services Committee Republicans on Monday released a statement arguing the cuts, among other reductions, would sap funding from operations, maintenance, training, military construction accounts, military housing and education for military dependents. To boot, research and development would lose $17 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis amendment is a deeply irresponsible stunt that would have great implications for our national security,\u201d said HASC member Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. \u201cWe would, with this amendment, undermine the readiness of our troops on air, on land and at sea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Progressive Democrats are offering amendments that would cut each chamber\u2019s $740.5 billion defense policy bill by about $74 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":114340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446],"class_list":["post-54037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"F32QQIOJZJEI5FG6NIX2ESW4T4","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2020\/07\/20\/defund-pentagon-effort-holds-message-for-biden\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Defund Pentagon effort holds message for Biden - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Progressive Democrats are offering amendments that would cut each chamber\u2019s $740.5 billion defense policy bill by about $74 billion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defund Pentagon effort holds message for Biden\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Progressive Democrats are offering amendments that would cut each chamber\u2019s $740.5 billion defense policy bill by about $74 billion.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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