ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to
Amend the National Defense Act
and Support the Nuclear Test Ban
Win Without War
(November 17, 2022) — Ever since that clear, cloudless morning 77 years ago when the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world has lived under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust. And from the ashes rose a new, devastating nuclear arms race.
At the height of the Cold War in 1963, recognizing the threat of an unrestrained nuclear arms race, the world came together to sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which further evolved into the current Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996.
And the CTBTO is meant to support that treaty. Its mission: to establish a global monitoring regime to ensure that no country can carry out nuclear testing in secret. The United States signed the treaty but never ratified it. And Congress placed a restriction on the US government from fully funding and supporting the CTBTO. Now we have a chance to right a wrong decision and work towards a world that is free of nuclear weapons.
A Critical Deadline Is Approaching
In the next few weeks, the Senate is going to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. What we don’t know for sure is if an amendment dedicated to supporting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) will make it into the final version.
Back in the summer, Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) successfully introduced an amendment to fund the CTBTO in the House version of the NDAA. And now that amendment is being debated and discussed in bicameral conference negotiations to hammer out the final legislation.
Right now, US law restricts Congress from fully funding the CTBTO, an international organization dedicated to promoting a universal ban on nuclear testing and establishing a global verification regime to curb destructive tests. This key piece of legislation is a progressive priority, and it was a win for our movement when we passed it in the House.
If we want to see a world peaceful and free of nuclear weapons, it is CRITICAL that this amendment stays in and passes the Senate. Negotiations over this amendment are happening behind closed doors right now, and grassroots pressure from activists like you could be the key to safeguarding its passage.
THE LETTER
To Members of the 117th Congress:
I urge you to pass Sec. 1345 of H.R. 7900, which repeals the restrictions placed on the US government against supporting and funding the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. Congress needs to fully fund international efforts to prevent the dangerous and destabilizing testing of nuclear weapons.
Thank you for working for peace,
Yint, Faezeh, Sam, and the Win Without War team
