U.S (NATIVE ORGANIZERS ALLIANCE ACTION FUND): Tell CONGRESS to Cut the PENTAGON budget, not funding for INDIAN COUNTRY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friend, 

 

Funding for Native peoples -- from healthcare to housing to nutrition to education -- is already severely underfunded. And when Congress cuts federal funding, Tribal programs are usually one of the first items on the chopping block, undermining their trust responsibility.

Right now, a small number of the hard right flank of MAGA Republicans are demanding trillions of dollars in cuts in exchange for keeping our government running. But the one place they haven’t looked for cuts is the bloated Pentagon budget. In fact, they want to increase Pentagon spending to an eye-popping $886 billion while cutting funding for virtually everything else.

Every dollar spent on expensive combat ships, unnecessary and dangerous nuclear weapons, and price-gouging military contractors is a dollar not used to tackle rising poverty and declining access to healthcare and housing for Native communities.

As right-wing members of the House plunge us toward a government shutdown over their demands for damaging cuts, send a message to your senators and representative and tell them that any budget cuts should address the Pentagon’s excesses, not strip already under-funded domestic programs of urgently needed funds.

SIGN & SEND

We know that poverty rates among Native peoples are higher than the national average.^[1] Our community relies more heavily on critical programs like Social Security, Medicare, and housing and nutrition assistance to meet our everyday needs. It’s one of the reasons Indigenous people have a lower average life expectancy than the rest of the U.S. population.^[2]

Sadly, Native healthcare programs have been severely underfunded for decades. According to an analysis by the National Congress of American Indians, funding for Indian Health Services would have to double just to match the level of healthcare provided to federal prisoners, and we’d need an even larger investment to match the benefits guaranteed to Medicaid recipients.^[2]

Take action today and tell Congress to cut the Pentagon budget, not urgently needed funded for healthcare, housing, nutrition, education, and more.

Ahéhee' (thank you in Navajo) for taking action today.

 

Tremayne Nez (Navajo)
Policy Director.

 

 

 

 

BUILD NATIVE POWER

 

 

 

 

 

^{[1] Racial Wealth Snapshot: Native Americans}

^{[2] Native Americans: A Crisis in Health Equity}