Homelessness as we know it will end only when its root causes are attacked with the same vigor and financial investment with which we currently ensure our national defense. Advocates for poor and homeless people recognize the connection between military spending increases and the prospects for social reinvestments in programs ensuring affordable housing, universal health care, and reduced income disparity between the very rich and the very poor.

In his FY2005 budget, President Bush proposed an allocation of $420.7 billion for the national defense. The military’s portion of this funding would be $401.7 billion—a 7% increase over last year’s budget, and 11% over FY2003, which had represented the largest single increase in military spending ($48 billion over the previous year) since the height of the Vietnam War. Non-defense discretionary spending is to rise only 0.5%, not enough to account for inflation. The Administration’s defense spending request, if approved by Congress, would consume 51 percent of all U.S. discretionary spending, i.e. that spending over which Congress has jurisdiction. This amount exceeds total allocations to the following federal agencies: the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, State, Labor, Justice, Interior, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Health and Human Services (HHS), Energy, Education, Commerce, Agriculture, the Treasury, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Legislative and Judicial branches of the Federal government.

We oppose increases in the defense budget and advocate reductions in military spending. Additional funding for the military results in fewer resources for all other discretionary programs, accounting for reductions or “flatfunding” in most essential non-military categories. This diversion of resources undermines the Federal Government’s ability to reduce the widening disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor, leaving our most vulnerable neighbors with few options other than shelters or the streets.

Excessive military spending is not solely responsible for the growing number of homeless Americans, but it diverts resources necessary for the amelioration of homelessness. Widespread homelessness also results from the following federal and state policy choices:

• Tax policies that redistribute wealth to benefit individuals with higher incomes at the expense of those with lower incomes;
• Reductions in affordable housing for low-income individuals and families;
• Market-based health insurance that rations health care according to financial capacity and excludes million of Americans each year;
• A Federal “minimum wage” that lags far behind the cost of living.

The growing military budget, which is scheduled to total $2.2 trillion over the next five years, coupled with a deficit of $477 billion this year, precludes investment in these other pressing federal priorities. As the Administration furthers its military agenda, military spending will only continue to increase beyond the president’s requests, further compromising the economic security of millions of Americans.

This year, Congress appropriated $87 billion to fund the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Such continuing expenditures for war aggravate a growing deficit and can only cause deeper cuts to social programs than those currently proposed. In addition, war disproportionately affects low-income Americans, like those seen by Health Care for the Homeless projects. Poor individuals voluntarily enlist in greater numbers in an effort to escape the circumstances of poverty—an “economic draft.” Military endeavors—such as those in Vietnam and the 1991 war in the Persian Gulf—leave many returning veterans on the streets, without a regular place to stay and without necessary medical, mental health, and addiction treatment services. As military conflict continues, we can expect to see many more cases of homelessness among service men and women who return home to lost jobs and a failing economy.

Recommendations

1. Invest 15 percent of current U.S. military spending in affordable housing, comprehensive health care for uninsured persons, and other domestic priorities. According to the most recent data available on international military spending, the Administration’s FY2005 Defense Department budget request of $420 billion is more than six times larger than that of Russia, the second largest spender, and more than the combined spending of the next 22 nations including China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, France, and Germany. It is more than 26 times as large as the combined spending of the seven countries traditionally identified by the Pentagon as our most likely adversaries (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria).1 Other organizations and analysts, including Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, recommend a conservative 15% reduction in military spending. Fifteen percent of the current discretionary military budget is $59.87 billion; for FY2005, it would amount to $63 billion. Just a portion of these savings, applied over the next ten years, would adequately fund initiatives for health care, housing, and other programs to prevent and end homelessness. We urge Congress to divert 15% of the current discretionary military budget to domestic priorities, including increasing the stock of affordable housing and increasing access to comprehensive health care for uninsured persons.
2. Oppose the Administration’s proposed $26.4 Billion increase in Pentagon spending for FY2005, pending a thorough, independent review of Pentagon programs and spending. There is little Congressional or public oversight related to military spending. Indeed, the Pentagon continues to resist an independent financial audit. Until the Pentagon complies with federal law requiring a satisfactory financial audit and the public is assured that these dollars are spent effectively, no additional resources should be allocated to the Department of Defense. Instead, these dollars should be redirected to domestic priorities. We urge Congress to initiate an independent financial audit of the Pentagon prior to allocating any additional resources to the Department of Defense.
3. Ensure ongoing review of the balance between military and domestic spending. Given the large proportion of discretionary spending dedicated to the military, even small increases can shift billions of dollars from domestic priorities to military purposes. Through rigorous oversight and frequent evaluation, Congress should ensure ongoing review of the Department of Defense to maintain fiscally responsible operations and ongoing reductions in wasteful or unnecessary spending. The notion of security should receive an objective evaluation, defining the roles of the military and of social programs. We urge Congress to engage in rigorous, ongoing fiscal review of the Department of Defense, to evaluate operational efficiency and the proclaimed need for increased military spending.
4. Pursue peaceful solutions to conflicts in the Middle East and around the world. We urge Congress and the Administration to pursue peaceful resolutions to conflicts abroad and increased diplomatic efforts with members of the world community.

1 Christopher Hellman. U.S. & Global Military Expenditures. Center for Defense Information, 2003: http://cdi.org/budget/2004/world-military-spending.cfm

(Editor’s note: the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness’s Federal Homeless Policy Update will return next month. In the meantime, check out www.npach.org for the latest updates.)

NHCHC

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