Invest in families, not war

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December 12, 2025
Blog Post
A budget is a reflection of priorities. And the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — thelegislation that funds the U.S. Department of Defense — reveals Congress' misplaced focus. This year, Congress is pushing over $900 billion in spending for an already bloated military budget, at the same time it has slashed Medicaid, food assistance, and other critical programs working families depend on. 

Worse yet, this legislation comes as Trump’s policies have pushed the power of the U.S. military to execute his misguided policy agenda. His policies have seen the deployment of militarized forces into American cities and escalation of unconstitutional boat strikes in the Caribbean. The NDAA contains no meaningful provisions to rein in these dangerous policies that abuse of power. That’swhy I voted NO on this year’s NDAA. 

Let me be clear: we can pay our troops what they deserve and remain the strongest military in the world without giving a blank check to the Pentagon and Trump’s abusive policies. I’ll keep fighting for Congress to put your needs first, but I need to hear from you.  

I WANT TO HERE FROM YOU
Do you support the current balance between military spending and domestic program funding in the federal budget?
  • Yes
  • No

TELEPHONE TOWN HALL REMINDER  

My last telephone town hall of the year is this Monday, December 15 at 5:45pm PT. There are three easy ways to join:  

  

  1. Sign up here to receive a call directly from me: https://forms.gle/x3D2nE8t5c3nQoYG8 
  2. Stream live at Dexter.House.Gov/Live
  3. Stream live at Facebook.com/RepDexterOR   

  

I hope to hear from you then.  

Be well,

Congresswoman Maxine Dexter signature

Maxine Dexter, M.D.

Member of Congress