1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

House Republicans have added $150 billion for the Pentagon in their partisan budget reconciliation "megabill," tipping the total budget over the $1T mark. This increase would be accompanied by cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and student loan programs. Part of this increase includes a $25 billion earmark for the "Golden Dome" project, a Reagan-era folly derived from the Strategic Defense Initiative. An effort this large has an estimated total budget in the hundreds of billions to trillion dollar range, far exceeding the initial $25B investment proposed in this budget. Unsurprisingly, Elon Musk's SpaceX has proposed a plan for the Golden Dome, including a launch of 400-1000 satellites to track and destroy missiles. The proposal includes an offer of a "subscription service"-style partnership with the Department of Defense, essentially locking the United States into a payment plan. Of major concern is the conflict of interest this deal would create. Reject this massive increase to the already bloated Pentagon budget. Our priorities should be feeding the hungry and educating our children, not increasing our industrial military complex with handouts to Trump's political allies.