Dear Supporter,

John McCain called the F-35 fighter program “a mess” on the floor of the Senate earlier this month.  The cost of each plane has climbed to $133 million, almost twice its original projected cost in 1986.  The US has purchased around 90 planes to date, but plans to buy over 2,400 -- at a cost of over $385 billion – making it the most expensive weapons system in history.

Santa has been generous to the weapons makers.

A Government Accountability Office report projects there will be about 10,000 engineering design changes in the next four years.  With testing only 20% complete, the total cost of the program will surely increase.  McCain called the cost-plus contract a “recipe for disaster.”

And the F-35 is only one of the multi-billion dollar Pentagon programs Congress will consider when it gets back to work in January.

As 2011 comes to a close, please lend your financial support to Peace Action to help us Move the Money from runaway military spending to meeting the needs of our communities. Our success depends on your contributions.

In the past year, Peace Action’s Move the Money campaign has helped build a powerful coalition of labor, economic justice and peace groups, strengthening the movement to end runaway military spending.  Among our successes:

•    The AFL-CIO issued a statement asserting the “militarization of our foreign policy has proven to be a costly mistake” and telling our elected representatives it’s “time to invest at home.”
•    The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution calling for an early end to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and demanding lawmakers "bring these U.S. war dollars home."
•    Peace Action chapters are passing similar resolutions in their local communities and continue to generate media coverage on the problem of runaway military spending as part of an ongoing public education and constituent pressure campaign.

This is just the beginning. When Congress returns to work on spending bills next month, and the President releases his budget for Fiscal Year 2013 in February, our case for cuts in military spending – and the growing movement that supports it – will need to be stronger than ever.

That’s what we need, a show of strength our election-minded representatives can’t ignore. Can you contribute to this effort? These final days of the year are truly critical and any help you can lend is important.

There’s strength in our numbers and we can use it to end the war in Afghanistan and change our nation’s spending priorities to bring about true economic recovery.

Thank you for all you do to secure a more peaceful and just future.

Humbly for Peace,

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

P.S. With the help of dedicated people like you, Peace Action is building the political power needed to impact the budget debate and make our Move the Money demands central in the 2012 election campaigns. Help us get ready for the New Year with your special year-end donation today!