Peace Action Maine's Mission:
We are a voice of education and a center for people committed to disarmament and creative responses to conflict.

Peace Action Maine's Mission:
We are a voice of education and a center for people committed to disarmament and creative responses to conflict.

Discretionary Pie FY 2023

     The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is legislation that Congress passes each year to make changes to the policies and organization of United States defense agencies and provide guidance on how military funding can be spent, though funding for the U.S. military must be approved through appropriations bills.
     A relatively rare example of bipartisanship in Congress, the NDAA has been passed for 60 straight years. That consistency has also made the bill a "must pass" bill and so,  a popular vehicle for tacking on legislation that has little to do with defense.
     Of the 1,500 + proposed amendments, here are the ones we can advocate for (many thanks for the work by Peace Action).

Rules/Amdt. #1473 Jacobs (CA), Omar (MN) - Prohibits the transfer of cluster munitions.

Rules/Amdt. #10 Holmes Norton (DC) - Insert the text of Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Conversion Act of 2023 (H.R.2775).

Rules/Amdt. #31 Lee (CA), Roy (TX), Spanberger (VA), Hageman (WY) - Repeals the 2002 and 1991 Authorizations for Use of Military Force for Iraq. (Identical text to HR 932 and S 316).

Rules/Amdt. #46 Lee (CA)/Pocan (WI) - Reduces the NDAA top line by $100 billion and holds harmless all accounts that support pay and benefits for personnel and dependents.

Rules/Amdt. #50 Lieu (CA), Meeks (NY) - Extends an existing prohibition on mid-air refueling of non-U.S. aircraft participating in hostilities in the civil war in Yemen for two years.

Rules/Amdt. #111 Pressley (MA) - A moratorium on the transfer of military weapons to local law enforcement agencies.

Rules/Amdt. #137 Meeks (NY), Wild (PA) - To enhance the consideration of human rights in arms exports.

Rules/Amdt. #138 Garamendi (CA) - Extends the operational life of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile until at least 2040 and pauses the development of the Sentinel Program until 2031. Restricts funding to the Sentinel program and the W87-1 warhead modification program during fiscal year 2024.

Rules/Amdt. #161 Bowman (NY), Bush (MO), Schakowsky (IL), Tlaib (MI), Khanna (CA) - Prohibits U.S. military presence in Syria without Congressional approval within one year of enactment.

Rules/Amdt. #279 Blumenauer (OR), Garamendi (CA) - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not use nuclear weapons first.

Rules/Amdt. #435 Jayapal (WA), McClintock (CA), Davidson (OH) - Repeals the statutory requirement that the Department of Defense submit unfunded priorities lists to Congress outside the formal budget request process.

Rules/Amdt. #472 Davidson (OH) - Requires the President to develop and submit a report to Congress that contains a strategy for U.S. involvement in Ukraine.

Rules/Amdt. #509 Beyer (VA) - Reduces wasteful spending by striking section 1641 and section 1642 which provide funding for the nuclear sea-launched cruise missile program (SLCM-N) and mandate quarterly reports on the progress of the SLCM-N program's development.

Rules/Amdt. #560 Foster (IL) - Commissioning a study on the New START treaty and what the future holds if no arms control agreements are met.

Rules/Amdt. #576 McGovern (MA), Pocan (WI) - Calls for an annual report from State to Congress, in consultation with DOD, that assesses the status of Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.

Rules/Amdt. #658 Tlaib (MI) - Strikes the prohibition on the reduction of the total number of nuclear armed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) deployed in the United States in Sec. 1638. Prohibition on reduction of the intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States.

Rules/Amdt. #1157 Bishop (NC), Biggs (AZ), Lee (CA) - Repeals the 2001 AUMF.

Rules/Amdt. #1171 Hoyle (OR), Khanna (CA), Jayapal (WA) - Revised Prohibits U.S. funding from being used for unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the war in Yemen if the Saudi-led coalition resumes aerial hostilities against the Houthis in Yemen. This includes prohibiting funds from being used for military logistical support or intelligence sharing that enables offensive strikes.

Rules/Amdt. #1261 Bush (MO) - Prohibits funds from being used to further facilitate the ongoing unilateral annexation of any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Rules/Amdt. #1473 Jacobs (CA), Omar (MN) - Prohibits the transfer of cluster munitions.

Upcoming Events and Recent Events

Join ME VFP: My Journey Back to Vietnam with Doug Rawlings

Sep 08, 2023
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My Journey Back to Vietnam Sept. 17, Sunday 3-5pm Portland Media Center 516 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101 Doug Rawlings returned to Vietnam in early August with his son, Josh, to speak at a conference in Hue City. Fifty-three years ago Rawlings was in the 7/15th Artillery located at a firebase in the Central Highlands.…

Maine Farm's call to protest warship's christening

Jul 24, 2023
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CALL TO ACTION: from Smilin' Trees Disarmament Farm Please join Smilin' Trees Disarmament Farm at Bath Iron Works on Saturday July 29th from 9:30 till 11 AM to protest the Christening of the Harvey C. Barnum Jr. DDG-124 an Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer. We will gather across from the Post Office on Washington Street in…

NDAA 2023

Jul 09, 2023
Discretionary Pie FY 2023
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is legislation that Congress passes each year to make changes to the policies and organization of United States defense agencies and provide guidance on how military funding can be spent, though funding for the U.S. military must be approved through appropriations bills. A…

Historic Golden Rule, Peace Sailboat Visits Maine

Jun 17, 2023
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Plenty of public parking, due to the upcoming Heritage Days in Bath, expect some roads to be blocked off but be patient:) Golden Rule is docked right in front of Waterfront Park on the Kennebec River!! For the later event, there is parking behind the Customs House and also under the bridge (you have to look hard for the…

Samantha Smith Day Maine

May 25, 2023
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SAMANTHA SMITH WAY CEREMONY AND ROAD DEDICATION (Video of event here) Maine Veterans For Peace, Tom Sturtevant Chapter 1, is hosting a celebration on Samantha Smith Day, June 5, 2023 at the Best Western Merry Manor Inn, 700 Main Street in South Portland, Maine. The event is to be held in the Wildwood Ballroom starting at…

Peace Action Maine 2023 Spring Renewal Annual Address

Apr 30, 2023
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Joseph Gerson is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security, Co-founder of the Committee for a SANE U.S. China Policy, a member of Massachusetts Peace Action, and former Vice-President of the International Peace Bureau.Venue: Wishcamper Center, 34 Bedford St., Portland, ME 04101, 133 Lee…

TAX DAY 2023 Maine

Apr 17, 2023
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Peace Action National Tax Day 2023 Handout. 2022 Maine Average Federal Income Taxes PaidApril 18, 2023 TAX DAY! The average taxpayer paid $1,087 just for Pentagon contractors in 2022. That’s nearly half the total contribution for the military. Congress Square Park 10-11 am, and Portland Post Office, Forest Ave. Where do…

Daniel Ellsberg Week April 24-30

Apr 09, 2023
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During the last few weeks, widespread heartfelt tributes followed Daniel Ellsberg’s public letter disclosing that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, with a prognosis that he has only three to six months to live. FMI: https://defusenuclearwar.org/ellsberg/ In the words of the Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and…

Exhibition DMITRI BELIAKOV Russian photojournalist

Apr 07, 2023
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Report back: Dmitri Beliakov's Exhibit in Vermont.Introduction to his photo exhibit is located HERE. "Photojournalist Dmitri Baliakov was born in 1970 in the Vologda region of Russia."Having done national service in what was then the Soviet army, he began taking picutres wih a camera borrowed from his Latvian friend."(Ray…