Dear Supporter,

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the "Super Committee") begins hearings this week on the next round of federal budget cuts.

After all of your calls, Facebook messages and tweets, the Super Committee has now setup their own suggestion box for the public. Let's flood them with suggestions!

The Super Committee has only a few short weeks to develop a plan. We need to make our voices heard now.

Send your suggestions to the Super Committee before it's too late!

1.  Visit the Deficit Reduction Suggestion Box.

2.  Demand cuts in Pentagon spending, not human needs!

Suggested Talking Points:

Cutting over $1 Trillion should not be done to the programs that help the sickest, the oldest and youngest in our country. Cut the largest section of discretionary spending, the Pentagon budget.

Bring the Troops & War Dollars Home: By ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, on the agreed to timetables, $200 Billion could be saved  over 10 years, 1/6 of the Super Committee's goal of cutting over $1 Trillion. Do the right thing, bring the troops home, but make sure they have jobs when they get here.

Reduce the Nuclear Arsenal: The current Administration has included $85 billion in its latest budget for maintenance and modernization of the nuclear weapons infrastructure over the next decade, plus at least $100 billion for maintenance and modernization of nuclear weapons delivery vehicles. The bipartisan Report of the Sustainable Defense Task Force suggests cutting our nuclear arsenal to 500 deployed warheads—saving $100 billion. The US should quickly get down to 500 on the way to global abolition of all nuclear weapons.

Cut Unnecessary Weapons Systems: A large part of the military budget funds the purchase and maintenance of weapons designed for “conventional” enemies, of which we have none; these weapons are outdated relics of the Cold War. We could save billions of dollars annually by retiring them—and not purchasing new ones. Specific cuts could come from reducing or eliminating the following weapons systems: Ballistic Missile Defense; Virginia-Class Submarine; V-22 Osprey; Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle; F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; and Offensive Space Weapons. Cutting unnecessary weapons systems could result in a savings of up to $302 billion by 2020.

3.  Share with your friends! Forward this email, or share this link on Facebook: http://bit.ly/px3gQz

Humbly for Peace,

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action