The world was just reminded again how close we are to a nuclear arms race—or an unimaginable nuclear war—when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he is suspending his country's compliance with the New START arms control agreement. While suspending New START, the last remaining bilateral treaty between the United States and Russia, is not the same as withdrawing, it is still deeply troublesome.
Nuclear arms control is essentially on life support. Rather than use this moment to double down on the importance of arms control, some policymakers are using the war and Putin's announcement as an excuse to push for new and more destructive nuclear weapons. This is exactly the wrong move right now.
We need our decisionmakers in the United States to get us on a safer path, one toward a world without nuclear weapons. Luckily, a number of US Representatives are creating that path: Urge your US Representative to protect us from nuclear war by cosponsoring H. Res. 77.
H. Res. 77 calls on the United States to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to adopt comprehensive policies for reducing nuclear risks including: declaring the United States will never be the first to use a nuclear weapon, ending the president's sole authority to launch a nuclear weapon, and canceling plans for new and unnecessary nuclear weapons.
Introduced by representatives Jim McGovern and Earl Blumenauer, H. Res. 77 is a tool to stimulate real debate about nuclear weapons in communities around the country and for cultivating congressional leaders committed to advancing the cause of nuclear disarmament.
The demand for change is growing. More than 70 cities, towns, counties, and states (including the NJ Assembly) have passed Back from the Brink resolutions with these comprehensive policies. More than 400 organizations--including CFPA-- have also endorsed Back from the Brink. And 92 nations around the world have signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
We need your help to keep up the pressure and continue building the nuclear disarmament movement. Write TODAY and urge your US Representative to keep us safe from nuclear weapons.
