Editor’s note: A coalition of 289 organizations is calling on Congress to oppose a proposed $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and instead invest in human needs. The letter below was sent to members of Congress on April 2, 2026.

Dear Representative/Senator:

The 289 undersigned organizations, representing a broad range of stakeholders from across all walks of American society, are strongly urging you to reject President Trump’s request for a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and oppose any increase to the Pentagon budget for 2027.

The proposed $1.5 trillion would be a stunning 50 percent increase over the already enormous FY 2026 Pentagon budget. The U.S. already spends more on the military than the next nine countries combined, including China and Russia.

We must invest in critical human needs programs in our communities. Instead, we have cut those programs massively. In H.R. 1, enacted this past summer, more than $1 trillion was cut from Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP, with millions of people expected to lose health care coverage and food. Some of these vital funds were shifted to add $150 billion to the Pentagon and even more to the Department of Homeland Security.  These choices have made Americans’ lives less secure.

The Pentagon is unaccountable to American taxpayers, having never passed an audit, while more than half of its budget (54 percent) is paid to corporate military contractors, whose profits are rising. Further gigantic increases would be grossly irresponsible.

Funding an unaccountable Pentagon by more than $1 trillion while underfunding human needs programs undermines our security by preventing us from investing in the shared prosperity that comes from more housing, health care, climate and public health protections, ending hunger, and providing quality public education.

We urge you to work to oppose and vote against the requested $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and oppose any increase in Pentagon funding this year. Congress must instead invest in meeting basic needs in our communities.

Thank you,

National organizations:
198 methods
Advocacy for Principled Action In Government
Agape Adventist Church
AJP Action
Alliance of Baptists
Amazon Watch
American Friends Service Committee
American Music Therapy Association
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Arms Control Association
Autistic People of Color Fund
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC)
Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice
Beyond Extreme Energy
Black South Rising
Center for International Policy Advocacy
CHANDRA NYC
Climate Justice Alliance
Clinical Social Work Association
Coalition on Human Needs
CODE PINK
Congregation of Divine Providence – Peace and Justice Committee
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region
Council for a Livable World
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Defrost ICE
Doctors Against Genocide
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa Office of Peace and Justice
Elders Climate Action
End Wars Working Group of PDA
Endangered Species Coalition
Family Centered Treatment Foundation
FoodFinder, Inc.
Fourth Branch Action
Franciscan Action Network
Free Speech For People
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Grand Challenges for Social Work
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Greenpeace USA
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Human Appeal USA
Hunger Free America
IMEU Policy Project
Institute for Policy Studies, National Priorities Project
Institute for Policy Studies’ Poverty Project
Integrated Community Solutions, Inc
Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
MPower Change Action Fund
Muslim Advocates
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Center on Adoption and Permanency
National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Homelessness Law Center
National Iranian American Council
National Nurses United
National Organization for Women
National Women’s Law Center
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Newtown Action Alliance
North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE)
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Ocean Conservation Research
Pax Christi USA
Peace Action
People Power United
People’s Action Institute
Popular Democracy
PrEP4All
Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness
Project on Government Oversight
Project South
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Public Citizen
Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Reduce Extreme Economic Inequality – Grand Challenges for Social Work
Repairers of the Breach
Rethinking Foreign Policy
Roman Union Ursulines of the United States
RootsAction
Rural Coalition
Save HIV Funding Campaign
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Share the Wealth Productions
SolidarityINFOService
Taxpayers Against Genocide
The Advocacy Institute
The Sero Project
The Sikh Coalition
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
United Church of Christ
United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE)
USCMO
Voices of Health Care Action
West Pinellas National Organization for Women
Win Without War
Women Cross DMZ
WZA Consultant
Youth First Justice Collaborative
Zero Hour

Local and state organizations:
14 Friends of Palestine, Marin
350 Bay Area Action
350 Colorado
350 Hawaii
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Alliance for a Just Society
Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania (ASPP)
Bernardine Center
Between the Waters
Black Children’s Institute of Tennessee
Borderlands for Equity
Breakthrough
Brown Dog Apiary
California Interfaith Power & Light
Carbon Farmers
Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War
Central Jersey Environmental Defenders
Central Valley Pride
Charlotte Trans Health
Charlottesville Community Resilience Center
Chequamegon Food Cooperative
Chicago Area Peace Action
Chicago House and Social Service Agency
Childhood Obesity Initiative
Church of St. Francis Xavier NYC
Citizen Action of New York
Citizens Awareness Network
Cleveland chapter of Irish Northern Aid
Cleveland Peace Action
Coalition of CA welfare rights organizations
Community of Caring
Compass Affordable Housing Services
Concerned Health Professionals of Pennsylvania
Connecticut Alliance of Foster and Adoptive Families
DC Action
Dientes Community Dental Care
Earth Care not Warfare
Earth Ethics, Inc.
Earth2Man LLC
East Bay Housing Organizations
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
East Boston Social Centers
East Valley Indivisibles
Empower Missouri
Epiphany United Church of Christ, St. Louis, MO
Faith Commons
Family Violence Appellate Project
Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
Florida Alliance for Retired Americans
Florida Chapter National Organization for Women
Florida Impact
Food for People
Fox Valley Citizens for Peace & Justice
Franciscan Peace Center, Clinton, Iowa
Frazier Park Mountain Progressives
Friends of Ruth B. Swann Park
Gather NH
Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace
Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry
Glide Foundation
Grand Rapids Trans Foundation
Granite State Organizing Project
Greater New Haven Indivisible
Greysolon Plaza Resident Association
Health Action New Mexico
Helena Service for Peace and Justice/SERPAJ
Hudson Valley Climate Science and Solutions
Humboldt Antiwar Committee
Illinois Child Care Bureau
Independent Living Resource Center SF
Indivisible Evanston
Indivisible Fox Valley Rising
Indivisible Fremont CA
Indivisible Media City
Indivisible Monroe County Illinois
Indivisible Resisters Contra Costa
Indivisible Santa Maria
Indivisible Yolo
Interfaith Alliance of North Dakota
It’s Blue Turn Indivisible
Jax NOW
JC Lactation Counseling
Keep Your Paws at Home
Kids Above All
Lake County Department of Social Services
Latino Texas Policy Center
Law Office of Kara Jennings, LLC
Lee County Chapter National Organization for Women
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
Long Beach Gray Panthers
Loveland Helping Hands
Make Voting Easy-CT
Mass Peace Action
McKnight Community Solutions
Memphis APRI
Mercer County Food Bank
Mi Solidarity
Michigan Peace Alliance
Minnesota Peace Project
Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative
Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity
Naper Pride Inc
Naples Pride
NC Climate Justice Collective
National Council of Jewish Women – PA
New Day Nevada
New Hampshire Veterans For Peace
NH Hunger Solutions
NH Peace Action
North Carolina Peace Action
Nuclear Energy Information Service
Nuclear Watch New Mexico
Oasis Legal Services
Occupy Bergen County
One Day At A Time Gift Shop
One Love Ministries
One-n-Ten
Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA)
Our Children Oregon
Pax Christi Lansing
Peace Action Group – 1st Unitarian, Portland OR
Peace Action Maine
Peace Action New York State
Peace Action of Michigan
Peace Action of San Mateo County
Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois
Peace, Justice, Sustainability, NOW!
Peer Voices United-Sacramento
Philly Neighborhood Networks (PNN)
Pinellas National Organization for Women
Pointes For Peace
Praxis Health Empowerment
Program Design and Development, LLC
Project Concern of Cudahy/St Francis
Putnam Progressives
Queen City Majority Action Fund
Quiet Corner Shouts!
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness
Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center
San Diego College of Continuing Education
San Diego for Every Child
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
San Mateo County Pride Center
Serving at-risk families everywhere, Inc.
Shared Harvest Foodbank
Sheldon Heights CoC Food Pantry
Sisters of Charity, BVM
Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Indiana
Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, OH
Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate
Sisters of the Presentation, Dubuque, IA
Snake River Alliance
South Bay People Power
Southeast Alaska Food Bank
St. Matthew Trinity Lunchtime Ministry
Sunflower Alliance
The Children’s Partnership
The Porchlight Collective SAP
The Pride Center at Equality Park
Thread City Indivisible
Three Mile Island Alert
TransCanWork
Transition Consults
Trees Not Cars
Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment
Triad Veterans for Peace Coalition
UC-AFT Local 1474
Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco- Human Rights Working Group
Uranium Watch
Venice Resistance
Voices for Vermont’s Children
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility
Western States Legal Foundation
WIC Association of NYS
Windham Area Interfaith Ministry
Women’s March Santa Barbara
YWCA of the Sauk Valley