Peters and Stabenow voted in favor of the $786 Billion US Military Budget for 2022, which is a vote in favor of US militarism and US Imperialism

On late Wednesday, the US Senate voted 88 – 11 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Bill, which will cost taxpayers $786 Billion dollars.

As reported earlier this week, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of the massive US Military budget for 2022, which included 3rd Congressional District Rep. Peter Meijer.

In the Senate vote, there were only 3 Republicans voting against the 2022 US Military budget, while 7 Democratic Senators also voted no. Both Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow voted for the massive US military budget, as they have in every military budget voted since they both have been in the US Senate.

Both Senator Peters and Stabenow used the occasion of the vote in support of the massive US military budget, to tout their support for Michigan military facilities and Michigan-based military contractors.

What Peters and Stabenow don’t acknowledge is that their vote for the US Military Budget will continue to support:

• 800 US military bases around the world, which are strategically located in places to deploy US troops when they chose to, to protect US economic interests abroad, and to threaten and intimidate other countries who challenge US hegemony. 
• Direct US military intervention through the use of soldiers, advisors, and other personnel to support dictatorships or governments with atrocious human rights records. 
• Weapons sales to dozens of countries, with a recent example being Saudi Arabia.
• Continued US support for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
• US military destabilization efforts in countries like Cuba, Venezuela and Iran.
• Massive taxpayer subsidies to US military contractors, who manufacture the weapons used by the US Military and many other countries because of US weapons sales. According to the National Priorities Project, US Military Contractors have made $3.4 Trillion over the past 10 years.
• Choosing US Military spending as a priority instead of funding housing, health care, education, or investing in the fight against the Climate Crisis in the US. 

In response to the Senate passage of the massive US Military budget, Lindsay Koshgarian, program director of the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies stated:

“Where is all the hand-wringing over the $786 billion military bill that we’ve seen over Build Back Better, which costs less than a quarter as much annually? Congress has completely abdicated their responsibility for the Pentagon budget. They may as well hand over a blank check. Families will stop receiving child tax credit checks next month unless Congress finally passes the Build Back Better Act, but the flow of dollars to stockholders for Pentagon contractors will go on, uninterrupted.”

Peters and Stabenow voted to prioritize militarism over human needs.