CALL TO ACTION: LOBBY FOR HR-1650, A NUCLEAR-FREE FUTURE BILL

There's a breath of hope, right now, that we can achieve a nuclear weapons free world within our own lifetimes and leave our grandchildren and future generations with a world where war is obsolete.

On April 18, 2013, DC's Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced her nuclear-free future bill for the 11th time, as HR-1650. This new and stronger version of her bill bolsters the appeals of the US Conference of Mayors, United for Peace and Justice and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, as well as International Mayors for Peace, Abolition 2000 and our own WILPF Reaching Critical Will. All of these are promoting abolition by 2020. Obviously we haven't been moving fast enough, and need a concerted effort this year.

In her press release, Norton wrote, "Today, I am introducing the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2013 [HR-1650], a version of which I have introduced since 1994, after working with the District of Columbia residents who were responsible for the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion ballot initiative passed by DC voters in 1993. This version of the bill now requires the United States to negotiate an international agreement to disable and dismantle its nuclear weapons by 2020 and provides for strict control of fissile material and radioactive waste and for use of nuclear-free energy. The bill continues to provide that the funds used for nuclear weapons programs be redirected to human and infrastructure needs, such as housing, health care, Social Security and the environment.... The bill is particularly timely as Congress continues to make cuts to important human and infrastructure programs and as the world confronts concerns about nuclear proliferation to Iran and North Korea."

We urge WILPF-US members and Branches to join us in contacting our own Representatives by phone, mail and in person to urge co-sponsorship of HR 1650. We also ask you to help us spread knowledge of the bill to other peace organizations and networks, and to encourage their cooperation in building support. We will also actively seek a sponsor of a similar bill in the Senate. While we will continue to support all efforts that bring the world closer to nuclear abolition, we believe there is no place for the incrementalism that merely serves as a cover for a new nuclear arms race.

In June, 2012, the US Conference of Mayors unanimously adopted a resolution calling for US leadership in global elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020 and redirection of nuclear weapons spending to meet the urgent needs of cities. In addition almost 200 US Mayors have actively joined their cities to the 5500 world-wide that have adopted the same goals and become part of the global Mayors for Peace movement. WILPF has long supported this movement and we believe it is time to reactivate our work on this in our cities, coupled with vigorous support of Norton’s bill in Congress.

Carol Urner of WILPF-US Disarm-End Wars Committee says, "The thing that is significant about this bill is that it actually is calling on Congress to support nuclear weapons abolition (and shut down nuclear power plants) within a time frame which is now very short. Even Ed Markey's SANE Act (HR-1506, "Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures") -- as well as almost everything the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability puts out -- accepts that nuclear weapons will be with us for a long time and tries to mitigate the dangers with common sense approaches. But someone has to say "Stop this madness now! The whole nuclear chain is killing us and destroying earth as nurturer of life. Indeed, the majority of nations (134) are saying it now. The non-aligned movement has lengthened the time frame to 2025 but the message is the same.

"Reaching Critical Will has been saying all we are lacking now is the will -- we need a tipping point. Norton's bill is moving us toward that tipping point. The fact that she is regarded as powerless as a mere Delegate to Congress, like the representatives of American Samoa and the Virgin Islands, I think actually makes her bill all the more powerful."

WHAT'S NEEDED NOW

* CALL AND WRITE your Representative. Ask him/her to co-sponsor HR-1650, the "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act" with Washington DC's Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. Send to both DC and local offices. (If you can’t find addresses and phone numbers for your Representative, you can write c/o U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515, USA -- or call via the Congressional switchboard: 202-225-3121.)

* Call AND write members of the House "Armed Services" Subcommittee on "Strategic Forces" and "Foreign Affairs" Committees; ask them to release HR-1650, the "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act," to the full House of Representatives for debate and vote. Please tell these Committee members that it is undemocratic to withhold this important legislation from the rest of their colleagues.

* Write the United Nations Ambassadors for all countries possessing nuclear weapons (Britain, China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, United States), c/o U.N. Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA, and North Korea (820 2nd Ave, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10017). Ask them to publicly engage in efforts of non-nuclear powers – currently the vast majority in the United Nations – to move forward on nuclear weapons abolition.

* If your politicians and media are unresponsive to letters, phone calls, and visits, start your own voter initiative campaign. Sure, you can do it! We did! If your community has no voter initiative provisions, lobby your state legislators to establish that right. Then USE that right to make your world a safer, saner place.

Share your own ideas and your experiences moving forward And keep us informed.