Marylia Kelley / Tri-Valley CAREs – 2011-09-27 22:10:04

http://www.trivalleycares.org/

Please Make One Time-critical Phone Call
To Stop Nuclear Weapons and Fund our Future

WHAT: Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) is now circulating an important letter to his colleagues in the House of Representatives. Rep. Markey is asking EACH REPRESENTATIVE TO SIGN ON to his letter to the “super committee,” tasked with identifying $1.5 trillion dollars in budget reductions over the coming decade.

Rep. Markey’s letter is titled, “FREEZE THE NUKES, FUND THE FUTURE.” His letter calls for a re-ordering of our country’s budget priorities. It states: “We continue to spend $50 billion a year on the U.S. nuclear arsenal… We call on the Super Committee to cut $20 billion a year, or $200 billion over the next 10 years, from the U.S. nuclear weapons budget… Cut Minuteman missiles. Do not cut Medicare or Medicaid…”

ACTION: Congressman Markey needs YOUR REPRESENTATIVE to be a co-sponsor on this important letter. Make no mistake. This is a great letter from a member of Congress. And, whether or not this letter gets co-sponsors may well determine whether or not the “super committee” seriously considers cutting the nuclear weapons budget. So, please do not delay. Call your Representative this week via the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

SCRIPT: Ask your Representative to co-sponsor the Markey letter to the “super committee,” titled, FREEZE THE NUKES, FUND THE FUTURE.

The deadline for your member of Congress to co-sponsor is next Tuesday, October 4, so ask your Representative to contact Markey’s office right away. Be sure to tell the staff person who answers the phone at your Reps office that you are a constituent.

Ask for a follow up letter stating whether or not your Representative did co-sign the Markey letter. Feel free to identify yourself as a member of Tri-Valley CAREs and/or of any other major group you can authentically represent.

And, do tell the staff person who answers the phone that the name of Rep. Markey’s staff person who is gathering the co-sponsors is Joseph Wender.

And, finally, please be sure to thank the hard-working staff person who answers the phone!

AGAIN, THE NUMBER TO CALL IS (202) 224-3121.

The time to call is between 9 AM and 5 PM Eastern Time –today, if possible. This is one time we are not recommending writing a letter. There is not enough time for a letter.

Please phone as soon as possible. Remember, the deadline for your Rep to sign on to the Markey letter is next Tuesday, October 4.

If you are not sure who is representing you in Congress, go to: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

To see the full text of the Markey letter, just scroll down to the FYI at the bottom of this action alert.

And, THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking this time-critical action to stop nuclear weapons and support needed social programs.

Peace,
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director
Scott Yundt, Staff Attorney,
Tri-Valley CAREs

FYI: THE MARKEY LETTER…
Freeze the Nukes, Fund the Future

Dear Colleague,
The Super Committee should target nuclear weapons. Our country plans to spend over $700 billion during the next decade on these archaic weapons of the past. We must cut funding for these weapons, and we must protect our children, our seniors, and our most vulnerable. The letter below advises the Super Committee to propose substantial cuts to the U.S. nuclear arsenal. I urge you to sign on to this letter.

Please have a member of your staff contact Joseph Wender of my staff at x52836 or at Joseph.Wender@mail.house.gov if you would like to sign on or if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Rep. Edward J. Markey

Freeze the Nukes, Fund the Future

Dear Members of the Super Committee:
The Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union crumbled. The Cold War ended. Yet 20 years later, we continue to spend over $50 billion a year on the U.S. nuclear arsenal. This makes no sense.

These funds are a drain on our budget and a disservice to the next generation of Americans. We are robbing the future to pay for the unneeded weapons of the past. Now is the time to stop fighting last century’s war. Now is the time to reset our priorities. Now is the time to invest in the people and the programs to get America back on track.

The Super Committee is best positioned to cut this outdated radioactive relic. The Soviets are long gone, yet the stockpiles remain. The bombs collect dust, yet the bills are with us to this day. We call on the Super Committee to cut $20 billion a year, or $200 billion over the next ten years, from the U.S. nuclear weapons budget.

This cut will enable us to stay safe without further straining our budget. This cut will improve our security. This cut will allow us to continue funding the national defense programs that matter most.

Consider how this savings compares to vital programs on which Americans rely. We spend approximately $20 billion per year on Pell Grants to help students pay for college. We spend $5 billion to ensure that Americans do not freeze in their homes during the winter. We need to freeze our nuclear weapons, and fuel our stalled economy.

The Ploughshares Fund estimates that the U.S. will spend over $700 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next ten years. Nuclear weapons and missile defense alone will consume over $500 billion. We can no longer justify spending at these levels. We can save hundreds of billions of dollars by restructuring the U.S. nuclear program for the 21st century.

Our current arsenal totals over 5,000 nuclear warheads. This enormous stockpile will allow us to annihilate our enemies countless times. At any one time there are 12 Trident submarines cruising the world’s seas. Each submarine carries 24 nuclear weapons. Each submarine is capable of destroying all of Russia’s and China’s major cities. Why then do we need all of these weapons? There is no good reason. America no longer needs, and cannot afford, this massive firepower.

The Super Committee should not reduce funding to vital programs relied upon by millions of Americans. Cut Minuteman missiles. Do not cut Medicare and Medicaid. Cut nuclear-armed B-52, B-1, and B-2 bombers. Do not cut Social Security. Invest in the future, don’t waste money on the past.

We do not need to maintain our current level of nuclear weapons to secure our country. The President agrees. The Senate agrees. The New START treaty will reduce our level of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550. This is a 25 percent cut from today’s levels. Fewer nuclear weapons should equal less funding.

We should not cut entitlement programs first. We should not target our seniors, our children, and our sick first. Instead we should target outdated and unnecessary nuclear weapons. Let’s freeze the nukes so we can fund the future.

Sincerely,
Rep. Edward J. Markey

CALL TODAY TO ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE’ TO CO-SPONSOR THIS LETTER

Co-sponsors we know of so far include:
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY-28)
Rep. Jan Schakowski (D-IL-9)
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

If your Rep. Is not listed above, please call (202) 224-3121.

Marylia Kelley is the Executive Director of Tri-Valley CAREs 2582 Old First Street, Livermore, CA 94550 marylia@trivalleycares.org, or marylia@earthlink.net (925) 443-7148 / www.trivalleycares.org