December 22, 2021

Congress Approved $778 Billion for the Pentagon. That Means We Can Afford Build Back Better.

Some senators say Biden’s social and climate bill costs too much, but comparing it to the military spending plan they just passed suggests otherwise.

By Rev. Dr. William Barber II, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharris, Lindsay Koshgarian

Pamela Garrison, a member of the Poor People’s Campaign West Virginia chapter, addresses supporters of the movement (Photo Rebekah Entralgo)

This week, the families of 61 million children received their final payments under the expanded Child Tax Credit. This credit has kept 10 million children above the poverty line, but it is expiring as the Senate delays a vote to renew it through the Build Back Better Act.

Instead, on the same day these last payments went out, the Senate voted to approve a $778 billion military spending budget — four times as much as the annual cost of the entire Build Back Better plan. Yet we’ve heard endlessly about how it’s Build Back Better that needs to be gutted so we can skimp and save.

Read the full piece at Politico.

The Rev. Drs. William Barber II and Liz Theoharis are co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

Lindsay Koshgarian directs the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.

For press inquiries, contact IPS Deputy Communications Director Olivia Alperstein at olivia@ips-dc.org. For recent press statements, visit our Press page.

Congress Approved $778 Billion for the Pentagon. That Means We Can Afford Build Back Better.

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Further reading

We’re Getting Dangerously Used to ICE Abuse

Restorative Justice is the Proven Alternative Our Children Need

Congress Finally Passed a Housing Bill. It Isn’t Enough.

Our project sites