The U.S. House of Representatives passed the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. or NDAA, in July.  The Senate must now take it up.  The House-passed NDAA is abominable, absurd, and abhorrent.  The US Senate must reject the House version, and we must  tell Senators Grassley and Ernst that common sense and human decency dictate  rejection.

Abominable, absurd and abhorrent!  Why?

Abominable because of the unfathomable amount of money that is proposed for the US military.  The NDAA itself calls for $1.15 trillion.  There is  a separate request for  $350 billion  on top of the NDAA amount, and there is another separate request for $80 billion to replenish munitions spent in our illegal and needless war  on Iran.  So if the Trump Pentagon gets these approved, we will be spending $1.580 trillion on the military in FY 2027, as opposed to a 2026 budget of $891 billion.  That is a 77% increase in one year.  This does not include the billions earmarked for the Veterans Administration or the Department of Homeland Security. Our national debt has just passed the $40 trillion mark, and the proposed increases to the military budget will add considerably more to that debt.   For perspective, consider the $4.4 billion FY 2027 request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Proposed military spending is 359 times the NOAA budget.   At a time when families in America struggle with housing costs, medical bills, and climate-related disasters, pouring unprecedented sums into military spending diverts resources from urgent needs of our communities.

Absurd?  Why?  The House bill(Section 219), and the proposed Senate bill( Section 1217) mandate  that Israel  be given unprecedented access to the US military establishment, with  privileges that violate our national security.   Sections 219 and 1217  direct the Secretary of Defense to expand integration of the US and Israeli military sectors.    The measures direct the Department of Defense to appoint a senior “executive agent” to integrate Israeli defense technology directly into sensitive US weapons systems, including artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, autonomous systems, and quantum computing.  Nothing like this has ever been done before  in US history.  No other nation has ever been given the access to US military resources that Section 219 and 1217  propose to give to Israel.  It is an affront to US sovereignty, and is frankly absurd.

Why abhorrent?  The House bill includes the “Save America Act”.  This act proposes to repress  US voting by demanding proof of citizenship of everyone seeking to register to vote or to change their registration. A US passport or verified birth certificate would be required.  It also mandates criminal penalties for election workers if they make any registration mistakes.  The “Save America Act” has failed to get US Senate approval when presented on its own.  The attempt to insert it into the Senate NDAA bill is abhorrent, not only because of its malicious intent but because it has no place in a bill to fund the US military.

There are numerous  reasons to reject the proposed NDAA  in addition to those described above.  For example, the Defense Department has never passed an audit.  An appropriate substitute for the proposed NDAA would be acceptance of Senator Ed Markey’s substitute bill, which would cap Pentagon spending at $750 billion.  While there is only a slight chance of something so reasonable being accepted, there is time to contact our senators, and it is our responsibility as citizens and taxpayers to do so. Demand that the  funding be substantially reduced, that the Israeli section be eliminated, and that insertion of the “Save” act be rejected.

Ed Flaherty, Iowa City
John Jadryev, Iowa City
Ross Porch, Iowa City
Bob Mueller, Mt. Pleasant
Mike Finley, Iowa City
Donna Hirst, Iowa City
Patrick Bosold, Fairfield
Art Roche, Dubuque
David Hempel, Iowa City
Paul Deaton, Solon
Pamela Fitzgerald, Iowa City
Mary Martin, Boyce, VA
Dennis Bricker, Iowa City
David Quegg, Iowa City
Donna Kann,Iowa City
Barbara Zilles, Iowa City
Pat Bowen, Iowa City
Rick Chambers, Iowa City
Jim Hesseltine, Iowa City
Maggie Hogan, Iowa City
David Martin, Iowa City
Gordon Goldsmith, Iowa City
John Fyotek, Iowa City
Joe Aossey, Cedar Rapids
Evalee Mickey, North Liberty
Louis DeGrazia, Iowa City
Joe Stutler, Cedar Rapids
Al Hood, Iowa City
Jerry Bloomer, Burlington
Robert Fischer, Decorah
Harold Frakes, Brighton
Pat Cummings, Davenport
Andrew Callahan, Cedar Rapids
Jeff Mason, Rock Island,IL
Nick Tsacudakis, Davenport
Jim Laughlin, West Branch
Matt Erickson, Davenport
Frank Potter, Dubuque