January 12, 2011

PROPOSITION ONE COMMITTEE

PO BOX 26 Tryon, NC 28782 USA

202-210-3886

et@prop1.org | www.prop1.org

____________________________________________

March 10, 2011

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

U.S. House of Representatives

2136 Rayburn HOB

Washington DC 20515 Fax: 202-225-3002

Dear Ms. Norton,

We write from the Proposition One Committee to congratulate you on your 11th term representing us in Congress, to thank you for your ongoing work for peace and wisdom in national security matters, and to suggest for your consideration some timely adjustments to the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act (NDECA) when you introduce it to the 112th Congress this year.

We regret that, true to form, the new House majority has stripped you - and the residents of the District of Columbia - of your vote in the Committee of the Whole. Fortunately we know that, equally true to form, you will not be daunted by this latest unjust (if not unexpected) denial of our democracy.

We remain grateful for your continued championing of nuclear disarmament - and the expressed will of DC citizens - through your support of Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion in the 111th Congress (HR 1653) and over the last two decades.

Last year saw some progress in the area of disarmament, most notably in the ratification of the New START treaty by the Senate. Also, as you know, on an international level progress was made at President Obama's April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, and with successful culmination of the 2010 NPT Review Conference at the UN in May. But of course, so many steps remain if we are ever to reach our goal of a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons.

Over the past two years, we have been consulting with nuclear weapons complex watchdogs and abolition activists while explaining Proposition One to interested groups across the country. As a result of these conversations, we have been developing ways to make the act more attractive to lawmakers and layfolk alike. We would like to suggest the following amendments to help make this year's bill more applicable to the current (2011) political climate, and ideally to attract a new level of interest from your colleagues, including those on the other side of the aisle.

In consideration of the comments we have received, the changes we suggest (in italics) have the following goals in mind:

1. Changing the language of Section 2-(1) to: “provide leadership to negotiate and achieve, within three (3) years, a Nuclear Weapons Convention or equivalent multilateral treaty for the global dismantlement and elimination of all nuclear weapons, under strict and effective international control, by the year 2020,”

2. Changing the language of Section 2-(2)-A to: “in converting all nuclear weapons industry employees, processes, plants, and programs smoothly to constructive, ecologically beneficial peacetime activities including strict control of all fissile material and radioactive waste, during the period of reduction and elimination of nuclear arsenals obligated by this act,”

3. Changing the language of Section 2-(2)-B to: “in addressing human and infrastructure needs such as development and deployment of sustainable carbon-free and nuclear-free energy sources, environmental restoration including long-term radioactive waste monitoring, health care, housing, education, and agriculture;

4. Rewording Section 3 of the bill to: “EFFECTIVE DATE.
Section 2 (1) of this Act shall become effective immediately.

Section 2 (2) of this Act shall take effect when the President certifies to the Congress that all foreign countries possessing nuclear weapons have eliminated them, or established legal requirements comparable to those set forth in this Act and those requirements have taken effect.

5. Rewording Section 1 of the bill to:

“SHORT TITLE: This Act may be cited as the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2011.”

We are attaching our proposed revised bill for 2011, as well as the language of HR-1653 in 2009-2010, for comparison purposes.

As you are aware, 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the anti-nuclear peace vigil in front of the White House, started by William Thomas in 1981 and continuing, entirely under his inspiration, to this day. We are very grateful for your introductory comments to HR 1653 two years ago on his birthday, March 20, which marked the occasion of Thomas' then-recent passing and the achievements of his life. We hope you see fit this year to likewise to choose March to introduce the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic and EnergyConversion Act (NDEECA) to commemorate the extension into its fourth decade of what may be the world's longest continuous peace vigil, and remains one of America’s most visible and enduring expressions of First Amendment rights.

Of course, we would be happy for an opportunity to meet with your office to discuss your thoughts on the proposed changes, and other potential strategies for attracting more co-sponsors in this new Congress. We believe there is an opening now - in a political climate calling out for reduced wasteful spending, less partisan rancor, and more compassion overall - for much more bi-partisan fiscal wisdom and many fewer tools of mass destruction. As it has since 1994, introduction of your bill offers an excellent opportunity for the US to lead confidently toward a safer, saner, nuclear weapons-free world.

Thank you again for your leadership and support.

Very Best Regards,

Ellen Thomas, Executive Director

Proposition One Campaign

Jay Marx, Campaign Coordinator

Proposition One Campaign

encl.: Endorsers

112^th Congress - Proposed Bill

111^th Congress - HR-1653

Endorsements

The undersigned groups and individuals endorse this letter and the changes to the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic and Energy Conversion Act suggested below.

Joan Drake

Coralie Farlee

Moya Atkinson

Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom - Washington, DC

Jenefer Ellingston

DC Statehood Green Party

Washington, DC

Sonia Silbert, Coordinator

Washington Peace Center

Washington, DC

David Krieger, President

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Santa Barbara, CA

Ralph Hutchison, Coordinator

Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance

Oak Ridge, TN

The Rev. Robert Moore, Executive Director

Coalition for Peace Action

Princeton, NJ

Liz Woodruff, Executive Director

Snake River Alliance

Boise, ID

Carol Urner

Womens Int’l League for Peace and Freedom Portland, OR

Mary Olson

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Asheville, NC

Lewis Patrie, MD

Don Richardson

Robert F. Howarth

Western North Carolina Physicians for Social Responsibility (WNCPSR)

Asheville, NC

Alice Slater

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NY

New York, NY

Maureen Headington, President

Stand Up/Save Lives Campaign

Burr Ridge, IL

Max Obuszewski

Baltimore Nonviolence Center

Baltimore, MD

Steven Starr MT(ASCP)

Senior Scientist, Physicians for Social Responsibility

Clinical Laboratory Science Program Director

University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics

Columbia, MO

Jerry Stein, Board President

The Peace Farm

Amarillo, TX

Glenn Carroll

Nuclear Watch South

Atlanta, GA

Adele Kushner

Action for a Clean Environment, Inc.

Atlanta, GA

Paul Gallimore, Director

Long Branch Environmental Education Center - Big Sandy Mush Creek

Leicester, NC

Linda Seeley

Terra Foundation

San Luis Obispo, CA

Toby Blome

Code Pink

San Francisco, CA

B. Geary

Citizens Action for Safe Energy

Tulsa, OK

Elizabeth Barger

PeaceRoots Alliance

Summertown, TN

Lucy Nichol

Central VT Women's Int'l League

for Peace & Freedom (WILPF)

Flo Chessin

Rita Jankowska-Bradley

Missoula Women for Peace-WILPF

Women in Black - Gulfcoast, Florida

Diane Cardin-Kamleiter

Jackie Mirkin

Edie Daly

Enid Mirkin

Brenda Riontino

Kath Madden-Moxon

Gina Castellano

Bob Darby, Coordinator

Food Not Bombs

Atlanta, GA

Don E Wirtshafter, J.D.

Wirtshafter Law Office

Athens, OH

B Wardlaw

Takoma Park, MD

Jessie Brooks

McLean, VA

Thomas Rivell

San Jose, CA

Hattie Nestel

Beth Adams

Laurie Solomon

Battleground, WA

Leila Pettijohn

Jamaica, NY

Victoria Regina-Furr

Leicester, NC

Madeline Keller

Missoula, MT

Glynis Lumb

Religious Society of Friends

Jim Powell

El Reno, OK

Susan Rona Warren

Mary Ayers

Debbie Kavanagh

Charlotte & Bob Scuorzo

Proposed Bill:

112th CONGRESS
1st Session

H. R. ----
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
_____ __, 2011

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to . . . for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To provide for nuclear weapons abolition and economic conversion in accordance with District of Columbia Initiative Measure Number 37 of 1992, with a focus on environmental restoration, and clean energy conversion.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2011.

Sec. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS ABOLITION AND ECONOMIC AND ENERGY CONVERSION
            The United States Government shall
(1)   provide leadership to negotiate and achieve, within three (3) years, a Nuclear Weapons Convention or equivalent multilateral treaty for the global dismantlement and elimination of all nuclear weapons under strict and effective international control, by the year 2020;
(2)   redirect resources that are currently being used for nuclear weapons programs to use
            (A) in converting all nuclear weapons industry employees, processes, plants, and programs smoothly to constructive, ecologically beneficial peacetime activities including strict control of all fissile material and radioactive waste, during the period of reduction and elimination of nuclear arsenals obligated by this act, and
            (B)   in addressing human and infrastructure needs such as development and deployment of sustainable carbon-free and nuclear-free energy sources, environmental restoration including long-term radioactive waste monitoring, health care, housing, education, and agriculture;
(3)   undertake vigorous good faith efforts to eliminate war, armed conflict, and all military operations; and
(4)   actively promote policies to induce all other countries to join in these commitments to create a more peaceful and secure world.

Sec. 3 EFFECTIVE DATE.

Sections 2 (1), 2(3) and 2(4) of this Act shall become effective immediately.

Last Session’s Bill, HR-1653:

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1653

To provide for nuclear disarmament and economic conversion in accordance with District of Columbia Initiative Measure Number 37 of 1992.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 19, 2009

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To provide for nuclear disarmament and economic conversion in accordance with District of Columbia Initiative Measure Number 37 of 1992.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act of 2009'.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AND ECONOMIC CONVERSION.

The United States Government shall--

(1) disable and dismantle all its nuclear weapons and refrain from replacing them at any time with any weapons of mass destruction;

(2) redirect resources that are currently being used for nuclear weapons programs to use--

(A) in converting all nuclear weapons industry employees, processes, plants, and programs smoothly to constructive, ecologically beneficial peacetime activities during the 3 years following the effective date of this Act, and

(B) in addressing human and infrastructure needs such as housing, health care, education, agriculture, and environmental restoration, including alternative fuel sources;

(3) undertake vigorous good faith efforts to eliminate war, armed conflict, and all military operations; and

(4) actively promote policies to induce all other countries to join in these commitments for world peace and security.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act shall take effect when the President certifies to the Congress that all foreign countries possessing nuclear weapons have established legal requirements comparable to those set forth in section 2 and those requirements have taken effect.