PCUSA Washington Office Use tax return filing deadline as impetus for spending less on military, office says The Layman Online Tuesday, April 15, 2008 The Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Washington Office is using today's deadline for filing federal income tax returns to call for less money to be spent on the military. An essay titled "Let's Not Talk About the Federal Budget" is the first item on the Washington Office's "Witness in Washington Weekly" electronic newsletter. The essay is a reprint "with slight modification" from the March edition of the "Washington Newsletter" of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker public-interest lobbying group, the Washington Office reports. Here is the full text of the essay released Monday: "Let's Not Talk About the Federal Budget "Tomorrow is Tax Day – how will your dollars be spent? "Budgets are about restrictions, about how to live within spending limits, and about defining essential or unavoidable expenses. You can't make these types of decisions without first defining a vision for yourself and for the country. Let's not talk about the federal budget. "Let's start with our vision for this country instead and then talk about how to divide up the $3 trillion budget proposed by President Bush for the upcoming fiscal year. "What Vision? "For the past 55 years, the federal budget has supported just one primary vision – a vision of the United States as the world's dominant, or even sole, military power. "But a majority of people in the United States has a different vision of the country. When polled about federal spending in 2005, and again in a Gallup poll in 2007, clear majorities of representative national samples favored increased funding for non-military priorities. In the 2005 poll, respondents specifically preferred to support veterans, education, job training and medical research. The largest group, 70 percent, would have increased spending for conservation and renewable energy development by more than a thousand percent. "Majority Wants to Spend Less on Military "In contrast, nearly two-thirds said they would prefer to cut military spending by almost a third. Only 11 percent agreed with the vision of the United States as the dominant world military power. The people of the United States have a vision for the future that is not being translated into federal policy. Part of the problem is the myth that the majority of people always support more military spending. 'The member of Congress agrees with you, but we are not in the majority,' say congressional staff who support cutting military spending. But comments like these do not match actual research on American opinion, individuals who want to stop increasing military spending or want to cut military spending are the majority. Congress needs to hear that majority's voice. "Changing the vision reflected in the federal budget will not be easy and will not happen quickly. But it can happen. One first step is helping people to understand that the budget does reflect a vision, one that affects them and their community. "Start by talking to your neighbors. Then get a group together to talk with your members of Congress. Begin with your vision for the world. Imagine this country in a different way. This nation could join with other nations to respond to global problems, such as climate change, disease and terrorism, and Congress and the president can use the budget to advance those priorities concretely. "Make your vision real by naming the things that the U.S. government could accomplish with our common dollars. Don't talk about the federal budget. Talk about the federal government's vision. "The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), in their analysis, 'Where Do Our Income Tax Dollars Go?' show that 43 cents of every tax dollar goes toward military spending. Click http://www.fcnl.org/pdfs/taxDay08.pdf to see FCNL's analysis of federal spending priorities and find out where your tax dollars are going." "This article reprinted, with slight modification, from the Washington Newsletter, [issue 725, March 2008] published by the Friends Committee on National Legislation. "General Assembly Guidance: "In 1979, the 191st General Assembly 'reaffirm[ed] the actions of previous General Assemblies pertaining to the elimination of poverty and unemployment, to equitable taxation, and to the continuing shift of national priorities from an excessive preoccupation with military superiority to bold and imaginative initiatives for peace, health and welfare.' (Minutes, UPCUSA, 1979, p. 292) "Later, in 1985, the 197th General Assembly 'reaffirm[ed] opposition to further increases in military spending and support[ed] cuts in expensive weapon systems.' (Minutes, PCUSA, 1985, p. 673)"

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