1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Today I take pen in hand to write in support of Representative Steve Cohens’ appropriately named Happy Birthday Budget Act designed to prevent wasteful spending on a military parade for President Trump's birthday. I cannot believe we have to have such legislation, but here we are. These kinds of parades are normally reserved to honor veterans on national holidays, not for bombastic and self-serving heads of state as found in dictatorships. We’re not a dictatorship…yet. Besides the damage to roads by heavy vehicles, cost estimates for such an event range from $10-30 million, funds that could be better utilized to support active duty military personnel and veterans. Republicans that support a parade for Trump’s birthday would be wise to remember that they claim to not have any money for proper funding and improvements to the Veterans Administration, yet they will waste money to soothe Trump’s ego. For fiscal responsibility and to uphold democratic principles, I urge you to support the Happy Birthday Budget Act and deny funding for this misguided endeavor by already burdened taxpayers. Thank you for your attention to this matter.