1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve a record-breaking $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget, the largest inflation-adjusted defense budget in American history. Rather than investing in the modern, cost-effective capabilities our military actually needs, it funds Trump’s vanity projects while supporting dangerous foreign entanglements. This massive bill, H.R. 8800, includes: Section 224, titled the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, would give Israel unprecedented access to American military technology while forcing the U.S. to integrate Israeli defense systems into our own supply chain. A provision to codify Trump’s order to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, with an estimated cost of up to $125 million. $17.5 Billion for the “Golden Dome”: Modeled on Israel’s Iron Dome, this proposed missile defense shield is unlikely to ever be fully operational and would cost an estimated $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy, and operate for 20 years. Trump’s battleships: While the current NDAA introduces some guardrails on the “Trump-class” battleship program, it stops short, leaving the door open for billions in spending on a weapons platform that defense experts say makes little strategic sense for our Navy. Taxpayers should not be forced to bankroll outlandish and expensive projects that do little to improve our national security and deepen our ties to a foreign government’s military in the midst of an unnecessary war. Demand your representatives reject these harmful provisions and pass a defense budget that reflects real threats and real priorities.