– 2004-05-12 11:12:42
http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/edit/index.php?op=view&itemid=1421
Congress is about to vote on key nuclear weapons programs in the Defense Authorization and Energy & Water Appropriations bills.
The President has requested the highest budget for nuclear weapons since the all-time record set under President Reagan during the Cold War. At a time of war and record deficits,
Congress needs your support to cut the nuclear weapons budget and curb the pursuit of new nuclear weapons programs. These programs send a clear “do as I say, not as I do” message to the rest of the world and threaten to undermine the nation’s attempts to stem the world’s appetite for weapons of mass destruction.
There are many nuclear weapons programs that deserve scrutiny. However, four key programs are likely to be addressed in debate and amendments by Congress this year.
• Nuclear Bunker Buster
Eliminate the $27.5 million in funding for the “Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator,” research and development to modify two existing nuclear weapons with explosive powers fifty times that of the bomb used over Hiroshima for destroying deep underground bunkers. Even these large nuclear weapons would be ineffective to the depths that modern bunkers can be built and the collateral damage from such an explosion would kill millions if the bunker was located beneath a major city.
• Advanced Nuclear Weapons
Eliminate the $9 million in funding for the “Advanced Concepts Initiative” which gives U.S. nuclear weapons labs money to design new mini-nuclear weapons and other new kinds of nuclear warheads. Even the smallest yield nuclear weapon used to penetrate underground bunkers would create heavy collateral damage. Their small size could lead the President to more readily consider their use in future conflicts. Their research, development and potential use encourages other nations to consider them a desirable weapon to own.
• New Nuclear Bomb Plant
Eliminate the $29.8 million in funding for the “Modern Pit Facility,” a factory that will cost at least $4 billion and could produce 125-450 plutonium pits, the cores of modern nuclear warheads, each year. The United States and Russia are supposed to be reducing their arsenals of nuclear weapons under the “Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty,” not building new ones. Replacement warheads are not needed as new studies are finding that existing weapons last much longer than previously expected.
• Readiness to Test Nuclear Weapons
Eliminate the $30 million in funding for “Enhanced Test Readiness,” a program to prepare the Nevada Test Site to resume underground nuclear testing. The United States has tested more nuclear weapons than any other country and possesses an advantage in nuclear-weapons knowledge that is unmatched. Increasing the readiness to test nuclear weapons sends the wrong signal to other nations that the United States may be prepared to break the current agreement to not test nuclear weapons and resume a nuclear arms race.
Tell Congress to oppose the President’s new nuclear weapons programs and cut the nuclear weapons budget. Your voice can help make a difference! For more information, go to www.ananuclear.org.
Call your Senators and Representatives at 202-224-3121 (Congressional switchboard).
Write your Senators and Representatives using email at http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html
Senate Armed Services Committee * Strategic Forces Subcommittee
Republicans
John Warner, VA (Chair) – John McCain, AZ – *James Inhofe, OK – Pat Roberts, KS – * Wayne Allard, CO – * Jeff Sessions, AL – Susan Collins, ME – *John Ensign, NV – Jim Talent, MO – Saxby Chambliss, GA – *Lindsey Graham, SC – Elizabeth Dole, NC – *John Cornyn, TX –
Democrats
Carl Levin, MI- Ranking – Edward Kennedy, MA – * Robert Byrd, WV – Joseph Lieberman, CT – * Jack Reed, RI – Daniel Akaka, HI – * Bill Nelson, FL – * Ben Nelson, NE – *Mark Dayton, MN – Evan Bayh, IN – Hillary Rodham Clinton, NY – Mark Pryor, AR –
House Armed Services Committee * Strategic Forces Subcommittee
Republicans
Duncan Hunter, CA (Chair) – *Curt Weldon, PA – Joel Hefley, CO – Jim Saxton, NJ (Terrorism chair) – John M. McHugh, NY – *Terry Everett, AL (Strat. Chair) – Roscoe G. Bartlett, MD – Howard “Buck” McKeon, CA – * Mac Thornberry, TX – John N. Hostettler, IN – Walter B. Jones, Jr., NC – Jim Ryun, KS – Jim Gibbons, NV – Robin Hayes, NC – *Heather Wilson, NM – Ken Calvert, CA – Rob Simmons, CT – Jo Ann Davis, VA – Edward L. Schrock, VA – W. Todd Akin, MO – J. Randy Forbes, VA – Jeff Miller, FL – Joe Wilson, SC – Frank LoBiondo, NJ – Tom Cole, OK – Jeb Bradley, NH – *Rob Bishop, UT – *Michael Turner, OH – John Kline, MN – Candice Miller, MI – John P. Gingrey, GA – *Mike Roger, AL – *Trent Franks, AZ –
Democrats
Ike Skelton, MO – *John M. Spratt, Jr., SC – Solomon P. Ortiz, TX – Lane Evans, IL – Gene Taylor, MS – Neil Abercrombie, HI – Martin T. Meehan, MA – *Silvestre Reyes, TX – Victor F. Snyder, AR – Jim Turner, TX – Adam Smith, WA – *Loretta Sanchez, CA – Mike McIntyre, NC – Ciro Rodriguez, TX – *Ellen Tauscher, CA – Robert Brady, PN – Baron P. Hill, IN – John B. Larson, CT – Susan A. Davis, CA – James R. Langevin, RI – Steve Israel, NY – Rick Larsen, WA – Jim Cooper, TN – Jim Marshall, GA – *Kendrick Meek, FL – Madeleine Bordallo, GU – Rodney Alexander, LA – Timothy Ryan, OH –
NOTE — Even if you don’t find your Senator(s) or Representative on the Armed Services Committee list — he or she will still have a vote on the weapons budget when it comes to the Floor. So, make that call!
And, if your Senator(s) or Representative IS ON the Armed Services Committee — make two calls! One to the Member of Congress and one to a family member or friend to get them to call in, too!
Marylia Kelley Executive Director Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) 2582 Old First Street Livermore, CA USA 94551. Phone: (925) 443-7148; fax: (925) 443-0177. http://www.trivalleycares.org
