Protesters Rally at Sen. Toomey's Office

About a dozen protesters gathered at Sen. Pat Toomey’s office in Salisbury Township Tuesday as part of a National Day of Action to demand an end to what they say is wasteful Pentagon spending, organizer Robin Stelly said.

Members of Penn Action, LEPOCO and Keystone Progress participated in the “Pull the Pork from the Pentagon: Protect our Priorities. Protect Our Middle Class” event, one of many that was scheduled to take place across the country this week.

Stelly said about 15,000 petition signatures from across the state were delivered to Toomey's office. The petitions asked him to "rein in" Pentagon spending and to ensure that no cuts are made to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Petitions will be presented to Sen. Bob Casey's office in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

The Pull the Pork National Day of Action is taking place as Congress faces a series of deadlines on the country’s budget priorities, including possible automatic spending cuts scheduled to take place on March 1.

“We have to stop paying for the things we can’t afford so that we can pay for the things that are essential,” Stelly said in a prepared statement. “We are calling for a fundamental restructuring of our priorities so that we can pay for programs that build a healthy and thriving middle class, and chart a course for future prosperity for all Americans.”

A comment from Sen. Pat Toomey's office was not immediately available.