I'm writing as one of your constituents who is deeply worried about what's happening right now in Washington. The Pentagon is asking Congress to hand over roughly $80 billion — mostly to pay for the ongoing war against Iran. That is an enormous amount of money, and I don't believe most Americans were ever asked whether this war was worth fighting, let alone worth that price tag.
Congress holds the power of the purse for exactly this reason. Eighty billion dollars is money that could fund schools, fix roads, pay down debt, or keep veterans' healthcare running for years. Instead, we're being handed a bill for a war that wasn't debated openly, wasn't declared by Congress, and whose end point nobody has clearly explained to the American public. Defense Secretary Hegseth has been lobbying members of Congress directly, but lobbying isn't the same as accountability. Before a single dollar of this is approved, my neighbors and I deserve to know what the mission is, what victory looks like, and what the long-term cost to our country will be — in money and in lives.
I'm asking you to reject this $80 billion funding request until Congress holds real, public hearings on how we got into this war, what the strategy is going forward, and what oversight will be in place. Don't hand the Pentagon a blank check — demand answers before you vote yes on anything.
