As the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran escalates, we continue to mourn the lives lost and destroyed each day by this violence.
While we were disappointed that Congress narrowly failed to pass an Iran War Powers Resolution last week, lawmakers now have another opportunity to halt this disastrous war by blocking additional funding for it.
This week, we joined more than 250 national organizations urging Congress to reject an expected supplemental appropriations bill that would provide an additional $50 billion to continue the war.
This push comes as annual U.S. military spending has already surpassed $1 trillion while one in three Americans were forced to skip meals or cut back on other essentials to afford healthcare this past year.
Pouring billions more dollars into this unconstitutional, unpopular, and immoral war of choice – particularly as so many are struggling here at home – would be a profound moral outrage.
Based on the Pentagon’s estimates, this war has already cost nearly $19 billion. Meanwhile, an additional $50 billion for this war would be enough to:
- Restore food assistance for four million Americans that lost it in the budget reconciliation bill.
- Establish pre-K education – for everyone.
- And pay for the annual construction of more than 100,000 units of housing… just to name three priorities.
As we oppose this funding bill, we also know that the true cost of war cannot be measured in dollars.
The Trump administration must be held accountable for the appalling harm this war is causing to civilians, including the horrific U.S. airstrike on an Iranian school that killed more than 100 girls.
Congress must listen to the American people and invest our resources towards the needs of families here at home, not on needlessly inflicting more death and suffering on families abroad.
Holding Temple Israel in the Light
We are horrified and saddened by the antisemitic attack on Temple Israel in Michigan yesterday. We are holding all those impacted and our Jewish friends everywhere in the Light. Houses of worship are sacred spaces of prayer and community. They should never face hatred or violence.
Amid the devastating war in the Middle East, we are alarmed by rising antisemitism and Islamophobia. In this painful moment, we reaffirm our commitment to Beloved Community - to loving our neighbors without exception. Nobody should face hatred because of who they are - their faith, their ethnicity, their nationality. Everyone deserves to be safe and to be treated with respect and dignity.
U.S. Militarism Impacts the Whole World
From Iran to Latin America to Africa, the Trump administration has surged U.S. military strikes around the world. The U.S. bombed Nigeria on Christmas day, 2025, in an attack that members of Congress are still demanding an explanation for. Joint strikes from the U.S. and Ecuador were carried out inside Ecuador this past week. Boat strikes are continuing in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific and have killed at least 157 people.
The United States must not keep using its military to viciously attempt to impose its will in every situation. War isn’t the answer.
Testimony from Oberlin Advocacy Team
FCNL hosted a workshop with Kendal communities in January 2026 to share our methods of advocacy and how people in their retirement years can be active in lobbying. Read the inspiring testimony from the Oberlin, Ohio, Advocacy Team on how they are engaging in the struggle for justice and peace.
Congress must not forget about accountability for ICE
The headlines have changed, but the immigration enforcement horrors continue. Militarized enforcement is plaguing our schools and places of worship. Legal observers have suffered state violence in our streets. And immigrant enforcement is cruelly apprehending and detaining immigrants.
We cannot allow Congress to forget. Legislators need to ensure meaningful guardrails and accountability for ICE and Border Patrol.
