{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-introduces-legislation-to-slash-wasteful-defense-spending", "Senator Markey Introduces Legislation to Slash Wasteful Defense Spending", "2026-06-16", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Edward J. Markey", "M000133", "www.markey.senate.gov", "markey", "https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Bill Text (PDF)\n\nWashington (June 16, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today held a press conference to call for major cuts to the Pentagon\u2019s budget request for Fiscal Year 2027, in light of Donald Trump\u2019s illegal war in Iran and as Trump pushes to increase an already outrageously bloated defense budget to $1.5 trillion \u2013 the highest since World War II. Senator Markey also today introduced the Slash the Pentagon Act, legislation to cut the budget of the Department of Defense and cap it at $750 billion \u2013 half of Trump\u2019s bloated budget request. Senator Markey is introducing the legislation as Americans struggle to pay for healthcare, rent, electricity, groceries, and gas, while Trump has spent over $100 billion on his expensive, dangerous, and unnecessary war with Iran.\n\n\u201cInstead of funding Medicaid and education or investing in veterans\u2019 care, Republicans want to pad the pockets of gold-plated defense contractors with billions more dollars for weapons and wars we do not need,\u201d said Senator Markey. \u201cJust before SpaceX\u2019s IPO made Elon Musk a trillionaire, Trump gave SpaceX billions in contracts for his expensive and ineffective \u2018Golden Dome\u2019 system. Coincidence? No, corruption. It\u2019s time to put people before the Pentagon and make major cuts to Trump\u2019s bloated and wasteful defense spending. We should invest in our hospitals, schools, affordable housing, and the real security American families need right now \u2013 not expensive wars and weapons that make us less safe.\u201d\n\nDuring the press conference, Senator Markey, joined by advocates, highlighted the better ways to use a $750 billion cut from Trump\u2019s $1.5 trillion military budget:\n\nTrains, not warplanes:\n\nBuild high-speed rail across the nation, expand existing passenger rail service, and electrify the most heavily polluting railyards and corridors ($205 billion)\n\nHealth care, not warfare:\n\nCancel out 100 percent of Americans\u2019 medical debt ($220 billion)\n\nBread, not bombs:\n\nFully fund SNAP and feed hungry families nationwide over the next two years ($200 billion)\n\nEducation, not annihilation:\n\nProvide children with Head Start and Early Head Start for the next decade ($125 billion)\n\n\u201cFor decades we\u2019ve been told there is always enough money for weapons and war but never enough for the challenges our communities face day-to-day,\u201d said Shayna Lewis, Deputy Director of Win Without War. \u201cNow, as families grapple with rising costs, President Trump is demanding an unthinkable $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget \u2014 all while brushing aside the concerns and struggles of the American people. Thankfully, a growing coalition of lawmakers is listening, and gearing up to bring spending back into line with people\u2019s needs.\u201d\n\nSenator Markey has consistently voted against the ever-growing defense budget and offered amendments to put a check on the Pentagon\u2019s nuclear capacities.\n\nIn December, Senator Markey voted against the $1 trillion NDAA for FY 2026.\n\nIn September, Senator Markey filed eight amendments to the NDAA, including amendments to limit funding for President Trump\u2019s destabilizing \u201cGolden Dome\u201d missile interceptor scheme, the over-budget Sentinel nuclear missile, and the dangerous transfer of weapons-usable plutonium to private industry.\n\nOne of the amendments was Senators Markey and Bernie Sanders\u2019 (I-Vt.) Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act, which would reduce wasteful nuclear weapons programs and generate tens of billions of dollars in cost savings.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-17T06:49:24Z", "2026-06-17T06:50:53Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-introduces-legislation-to-slash-wasteful-defense-spending"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6063980292528868, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}