Calling All Budget Advocates!

Apr 22, 2011

April and May 2011 are the months when Congress will be making major decisions about the fiscal year 2012 budget. From the 2011 budget that was recently passed, we know that grassroots lobbying is critical and persuasive (for the EPA, for peaceful prevention of deadly conflict, and for nuclear nonproliferation). We need your help again for the 2012 budget.

Want to help reduce the deficit, cut waste and redundancy in the Pentagon budget, save proven poverty-relief programs, and create a fair taxation system? Here's FCNL's guide for budget advocates in the months of April and May.

April 20-April 30th:

• Make phone calls to Congress. Contact the Capitol Switchboard at (866) 220-0044 and get connected to your representative's and senators' offices. Get our FY2012 budget talking points. Forget who your representative and senators are? Use FCNL's Congressional Directory.
• Tell your friends to call Congress, too. Click the "Email" button in the top right corner of this webpage.
• Write a letter to the editor. Utilizing your local media is a great way to raise the profile of cuts to the Pentagon budget, both to Congress and to your community.
• Schedule a meeting with your member of Congress. They'll be home on recess until April 29th, and they need to hear from constituents that you support substantive cuts to the Pentagon budget.
• Go public! Distribute the flyers listed below to your meeting or church.

April 25-May 5th:

• Write an op-ed. Cutting a trillion dollars out of the Pentagon budget is a great way to address the federal budget deficit. Never written an opinion piece for your newspaper before? This is a great opportunity!
• Host a letter-writing campaign. A few well-thought out letters on a topic can have a profound impact on a legislator. Most receive only a few letters on most issues, so they assume that a single letter represents the views of many people.
• Lobby! It's less scary than you think. Take a few of the handouts below, or, if you're in Washington, take an FCNL staff member with you. When you come home, tell us how it went!

May 5-May 6th:

• Take a break and eat some food. You deserve it, and you'll need the rest later...

May 7-June 24th:

• What's the debt ceiling, and why is it important? Your representative should hear from you about this important vote, so check back on this page later to use an FCNL action alert to write an email.
• Reach out to your community. Have a meeting with your church or community group about why tackling the federal budget deficit is more important to U.S. national security than fighting the Taliban. Distribute the flyers listed below to all your friends, and then tell us what you did!
• Lobby at Home. Make an appointment to see your representative or your senators when they’re at home, or find out when they’re holding local events and plan to attend.
  • May 16-20th: House Recess
  • May 30-June 3: Senate Recess
  • June 6-10th: House Recess
• Sign up to receive regular updates on the federal budget with our "Checking In" e-newsletter.
• Donate. Your support allows FCNL to keep you informed and to continue lobbying for you on Capitol Hill.

And this is important:

Lots of people are thinking favorably about cutting the Pentagon budget, but members of Congress still think the people back home would never stand for any cuts in Pentagon spending. They need evidence that the winds are changing.

You can provide that kind of evidence! Send Congress a note about your tax day event, about conversations you’ve had or “penny polls” you’ve participated in. Send links to photos, articles, or letters to the editor to be sure that your member of Congress sees it (but be careful, their email systems might not let you send attachments).

FCNL's Handouts and Flyers about the Federal Budget

• Ten Reasons Why Congress Should Cut the Pentagon Budget
• Who Says We Can and Should Cut Pentagon Spending?
• Debts, Deficits, and Defense: A Way Forward
• Where Do Our Income Tax Dollars Go?

Background Information

Read FCNL's March/April 2011 Washington Newsletter, "A $2 Trillion Solution". The Pentagon budget should be the first place Congress looks if it wants to bring federal spending more in line with federal revenues. Find out why in the newsletter. Read past Washington Newsletter articles about the federal budget here.

Check out FCNL's Federal Budget page, which contains all our statements and information about the federal budget.

The Our Nation's Checkbook campaign shows people and communities coming together out of concern for the federal budget.

Other resources:

• Read the Time and New York Times articles on why cutting the Pentagon budget is a good idea.
• Coalition on Human Needs and their most recent analysis of the 2011 Continuing Resolution
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, especially their analysis of the impact of the Ryan budget on low-income support and other programs, broken down by state.
• The Center on Arms Control and Disarmament breaks down the Pentagon budget, and appropriations and authorization processes. Check out their analysis of Obama's budget request.