More than 250 advocacy organizations have sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to reject additional funding for the war in Iran, arguing that expanding the war would deepen both the humanitarian crisis and the economic strain facing Americans at home.
The coalition, led by Public Citizen, Win Without War, MoveOn, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), warned that the conflict could cost roughly $1 billion per day and divert resources from domestic priorities such as housing, health care, and food assistance.
“By launching a war against Iran, Trump has violated the Constitution, defied international law, flouted the will of the American people, and has put millions of lives across the region at risk,” the organizations wrote in a letter sent to Congress.
The Pentagon’s annual budget now exceeds $1 trillion after Congress approved an additional $150 billion in spending earlier this year. Advocacy groups say the administration is now seeking a supplemental package that could add another $50 billion to the military’s war funding.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said additional funding would only prolong the conflict and divert resources from Americans facing economic pressure.
“More money for the Pentagon will serve to extend and escalate an illegal, unpopular, and devastating war,” Weissman said in a statement released with the coalition’s letter to Congress. “The money wasted on this war should instead be invested in meeting the economic squeeze felt by everyday Americans.”
Civil liberties advocates are also warning lawmakers that approving new funding could effectively authorize the continuation of the war without congressional approval.
“That’s exactly why it’s so crucial that the decision to go to war not rest on one person’s impulses,” Christopher Anders, director of the ACLU’s Technology and Democracy Division, said in comments released by the coalition. “Congress must not fund the continuation of this unconstitutional war.”
The coalition urging Congress to reject additional funding includes major labor unions, civil rights organizations, environmental groups, and policy advocates such as Oxfam America, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), National Nurses United, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greenpeace, Common Cause, Indivisible, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).
Advocates say the financial costs of the conflict are already being felt both overseas and at home.
“People across the U.S. already hate Trump’s illegal war in Iran, and they’re not going to like it any better if Congress wastes $50 billion more of their money on it,” Shayna Lewis, deputy director of Win Without War, said in a statement responding to the administration’s request for additional war funding. “It’s outrageous that Trump is even asking for more money to spend on bombs when his spiraling war is killing civilians abroad and driving up prices for everyone at home, all with no end in sight. Congress should tell Trump clearly: not one more penny for this foolish, destructive war.”