The dangers of nuclear war have risen sharply this year. Unfortunately, very few members of the House and Senate have risen to the occasion by speaking to de-escalate tensions between nuclear powers and seriously revive negotiations for nuclear-weapons treaties. 

We demand action from elected officials to decrease the risk of nuclear war.

OUR FIVE DEMANDS:

(1) End the Policy of “First Use” – The President must issue a declaratory statement, and Congress must endorse by legislation (S. 1219), the policy of the United States to never be first to launch nuclear weapons.  

(2) Rejoin Nuclear-Weapons Treaties - The United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 2002 and from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. Both pacts significantly reduced the dangers of nuclear war. 

(3) Take U.S. Nuclear Weapons Off Hair-Trigger Alert - The United States has roughly 1,700 deployed nuclear weapons - 400 of them on hair trigger alert in land-based silos, ready to be launched within minutes of a presidential order. This status greatly increases the chance of a launch in response to a false alarm. 

(4) Stop the GBSD Program and Get rid of ICBMs (land-based nuclear missiles) The U.S. is set to spend $264 billion dollars on the projected lifetime cost of replacing our land based nuclear weapons with a new model missile (Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent). A growing consensus among nuclear weapons experts asserts not only that the U.S. doesn't need these weapons for its security, but keeping them actually increases the chances of a massive nuclear attack. Support S. 982. 

(5) Support Congressional Action to Avert Nuclear War- We call upon our two Senators to take whatever action necessary to move the United States to join 91 nations and become a signatory on the International Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a landmark treaty that came into force in January of 2021. We further ask that they introduce and/or support companion legislation to two active house bills. H.Res. 1185 “calls on the President to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of U.S. national security policy and lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war." HR 2850 makes a similar call for the US to sign and ratify the TPNW. We also ask that both Senators join the Arms Control Association's Bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group.