Pentagon Budget Bill is Underway: Check Out Amendments We Support
With the holiday recess behind us, Congress is back in session and taking on the Pentagon budget bill. Right now, the House Rules Committee is working through 1529 amendments — a record number. Once out of committee, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will go to the House floor for debate. The Senate will be taking up their own version of the bill sometime soon, as well.
Our allies in Congress have presented a strong batch of pro-peace amendments that we hope to see come up for votes as early as this week. You can see the list of amendments Peace Action is advocating for below.
If you feel inclined, you can contact your Representative and share a few of these amendments with him or her.
Bold are top priority amendments.
SUPPORT
Rules/Amdt. #10 Holmes Norton (DC), Grijalva (AZ), Tlaib (MI), Jayapal (WA) – Insert the text of Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Conversion Act of 2023 (H.R.2775).
Rules/Amdt. #31 Lee (CA), Roy (TX), Spanberger (VA), Hageman (WY), McGovern (MA), Donalds (FL), Hoyle (OR), Bishop (NC), Meeks (NY), Cammack (FL) – Repeals the 2002 and 1991 Authorizations for Use of Military Force for Iraq.
Rules/Amdt. #39 Foster (IL) – Requires any Department of Defense base, division, or project that has not yet passed an audit to contribute 2 percent of its budget into a fund to provide an independent audit by an accredited audit firm.
Rules/Amdt. #46 Lee (CA)/Pocan (WI), Espaillat (NY), Raskin (MD), Grijalva (AZ), Huffman (CA) – Reduces the NDAA top line by $100 billion and holds harmless all accounts that support pay and benefits for personnel and dependents.
Rules/Amdt. #49 Lieu (CA), Meeks (NY), Khanna (CA), Titus (NV) – Requires the Secretary of State to develop guidance for investigating indications that U.S.-origin defense articles have been used in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition in substantial violation of relevant agreements with countries participating in the coalition and to report to Congress, consistent with GAO recommendations.
Rules/Amdt. #50 Lieu (CA), Meeks (NY), Titus (NV) – Extends an existing prohibition on mid-air refueling of non-U.S. aircraft participating in hostilities in the civil war in Yemen for two years.
Rules/Amdt. 52 Lieu (CA), Houlahan (PA), Ciscomani (AZ), Moulton (MA), Nunn (IA), Tlaib (MI), Beyer (VA), Jacobs (CA), Mooney (WV), Buck (CO) – Requires the Secretary of Defense to ensure that meaningful human control is required to launch a nuclear weapon. Prevents artificial intelligence from launching a nuclear weapon without a human in the loop.
Rules/Amdt. #111 Pressley (MA) – A moratorium on the transfer of military weapons to local law enforcement agencies.
Rules/Amdt. #132 Garamendi (CA) – Updates the required timeline for the nuclear security enterprise to produce plutonium pits to a period that the Administrator for Nuclear Security determines to be technically achievable and cost effective.
Rules/Amdt. #137 Meeks (NY), Wild (PA), Spanberger(VA) – To enhance the consideration of human rights in arms exports.
Rules/Amdt. #161 Bowman (NY), Bush (MO), Schakowsky (IL), Tlaib (MI), Khanna (CA), Doggett (TX), Hoyle (OR) – Prohibits U.S. military presence in Syria without Congressional approval within one year of enactment.
Rules/Amdt. #162 Bowman (NY) – Requires public disclosure about the cost of the United States overseas military footprint.
Rules/Amdt. #197 Meeks (NY), Keating (MA), Kaptur (OH), Pallone (NJ), Gallego (AZ), Cohen (TN), Allred (TX) – Authorizes the imposition of sanctions with respect to any foreign person endangering the integrity or safety of the Zaporzhzhia nuclear power plant.
Rules/Amdt #199 Sherman (CA) – Prevents the use of funds by the Department of Defense in contravention of the War Powers Resolution.
Rules/Amdt. #253 Porter (CA) – Requires DOD to implement the four GAO recommendations in the report entitled, ‘‘F-35 Program: DOD Needs Better Accountability for Global Spare Parts and Reporting of Losses Worth Millions’’ and report back to Congress on its progress within 1 year of the date of enactment of this Act.
Rules/Amdt. #276 Blumenauer (OR), McGovern (MA), Garamendi (CA) – Strikes Section 1639 and prohibits the use of funds for the sustainment of the B83-1 bomb. This amendment reflects the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, which declared the B83-1 “will be retired.”
Rules/Amdt. #279 Blumenauer (OR), Garamendi (CA) – Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not use nuclear weapons first.
Rules/Amdt. #294 Slotkin (MI), Swalwell (CA) – Requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to surge capacity to better support special immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan and referrals of nationals of Afghanistan to the United States Refugee Admissions Program.
Rules/Amdt. #302 Garamendi (CA), Deluzio (PA), Doggett (TX) – Fixes loopholes in existing requirements for pricing data by clarifying when cost or pricing data is required. Makes clear that requirements to provide cost or pricing information can only be waived when there is a price competition that results in at least two responsive and viable offers.
Rules/Amdt. #311 Deluzio (PA), Doggett (TX), Garamendi (CA), Tokuda (HI), Panetta (CA), Raskin (MD), Khanna (CA) – Lowers the mandatory disclosure threshold for contractors to provide certified cost and pricing information from $2,000,000 to $750,000.
Rules/Amdt. #319 Omar (MN) – Repeals the 127e program, support of special operations to combat terrorism.
Rules/Amdt. #323 Spanberger (VA), Roy (TX), Gallagher (WI), Hageman (WY), Ogles (TN), Lee (CA) – Repeals the 1957 AUMF on the Middle East.
Rules/Amdt. #329 Espaillat (NY), Velázquez (NY), Lee (CA), Schakowsky (IL), Porter (CA) – Strikes section 1822 in order to allow funds to go towards the implementation of rules requiring contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions levels, climate-related financial risk, greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets, and other climate metrics.
Rules/Amdt. #435 Jayapal (WA), McClintock (CA), Davidson (OH), Garamendi (CA) – Repeals the statutory requirement that the Department of Defense submit unfunded priorities lists to Congress outside the formal budget request process.
Rules/Amdt. #442 Jayapal (WA) – Directs the State Department to produce a report on the level of risk associated with arms transfers to certain countries, including analysis of the risk that arms will end up in the possession of unauthorized end-users or for unauthorized purposes in violation of U.S. law.
Rules/Amdt. #446 Jayapal (WA) – Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress a report analyzing the potential cost-savings of various strategies to reduce the size or increase the efficiency of the U.S. nuclear security enterprise.
Rules/Amdt. #472 Davidson (OH), Cloud (TX) – Requires the President, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State, to develop and submit a report to Congress that contains a strategy for U.S. involvement in Ukraine
Rules/Amdt #489 Foster (IL), Larsen (WA), Garamendi (CA) – Strikes prohibition and establishes a program for research and development of advanced naval nuclear fuel system based on low-enriched uranium. Increases funding to $20,000,000 for the purpose of LEU research and development for naval pressurized water reactors.
Rules/Amdt. #509 Beyer (VA) – Reduces wasteful spending by striking section 1641 and section 1642 which provide funding for the nuclear sea-launched cruise missile program (SLCM-N) and mandate quarterly reports on the progress of the SLCM-N program’s development.
Rules/Amdt. #551 Omar (MN), Kamlager-Dove (CA) – Requires reporting from USAID on refugee flows out of Sudan since April 15, 2023.
Rules/Amdt. #559 Miller-Meeks (IA), Blumenauer (OR) – Sense of Congress to increase support for Afghan nationals who have supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
Rules/Amdt. #560 Foster (IL), Garamendi (CA), Beyer (VA) – Commissioning a study on the New START treaty and what the future holds if no arms control agreements are met.
Rules/Amdt. #576 McGovern (MA), Pocan (WI), Schakowsky (IL), Johnson (GA), Blumenauer (OR), Huffman (CA), Doggett (TX) – Calls for an annual report from State to Congress, in consultation with DOD, that assesses the status of Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.
Rules/Amdt. #658 Tlaib (MI) – Strikes the prohibition on the reduction of the total number of nuclear armed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) deployed in the United States in Sec. 1638. Prohibition on reduction of the intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States.
Rules/Amdt. #706 Velázquez (NY), Garcia (IL) – Prohibits the use of unauthorized military force against Mexico.
Rules/Amdt. #892 Blumenauer (OR), Nunn (IA), Crow (CO), Miller-Meeks (IA), Schakowsky (IL), Ciscomani (AZ), Norton (DC), Sherrill (NJ), Swalwell (CA), Crockett (TX), Bera (CA), Tlaib (MI), Johnson (GA), Goldman (NY), Peters (CA), Kim (NJ), Keating (MA), Spanberger (VA), Jayapal (WA), Moulton (MA), Nadler (NY), Matsui (CA), Foster (IL), Correa (CA), Porter (CA), Stanton (AZ), Case (HI), Larsen (WA) – Authorizes 4,000 additional visas for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program.
Rules/Amdt. #1150 Jacobs (CA) – Revises the Arms Export Control Act to clarify defense articles and services sold or leased by the United States Government may not be used to commit or enable violations of international humanitarian law or internationally recognized human rights.
Rules/Amdt. #1157 Bishop (NC), Biggs (AZ), Lee (CA), Crane (AZ), Buck (CO), Gaetz (FL), Schakowsky (IL), Hoyle (OR) – Repeals the 2001 AUMF.
Rules/Amdt. #1171 Hoyle (OR), Khanna (CA), Jayapal (WA), Titus (NV), Schiff (CA) – Revised Prohibits U.S. funding from being used for unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the war in Yemen if the Saudi-led coalition resumes aerial hostilities against the Houthis in Yemen. This includes prohibiting funds from being used for military logistical support or intelligence sharing that enables offensive strikes.
Rules/Amdt. #1261 Bush (MO) – Prohibits funds from being used to further facilitate the ongoing unilateral annexation of any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Rules/Amdt. #1270 Pocan (WI), Lee (CA) – Requires a report on DoD’s progress made and remaining challenges to achieving an unqualified audit opinion.
Rules/Amdt. #1309 Garcia (IL) – Requires the Secretaries of Treasury and State to certify that such sanctions will not result in civilian death before enforcing sectoral or broad-based sanctions.
Rules/Amdt. #1332 Hageman (WY), Lee (CA) – Requires the DoD to submit a plan to Congress on measures it will take to prevent the annual budget request from reaching $1 trillion.
Rules/Amdt. #1473 Jacobs (CA), Omar (MN), Jayapal (WA), McGovern (MA) – Prohibits the transfer of cluster munitions.
Rules/Amdt. #1534 Dingell (MI) – Expresses a sense of Congress on the need for a new UN Security Council Resolution for Yemen that calls on the lifting of the Saudi blockade of the country and an inclusive peace process.
