Senator Markey
Nuclear weapons champions laid the cards on the table for Congress this week; We want no first use, no new nukes, and no sole-authority. In case you got caught up in the whirlwind of news, we’ll break it down for you;
- On Wednesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Adam Smith introduced the No First Use Act H.R.921/ S.272 making it clear that the United States should never launch a nuclear weapon as a first strike. Not now, not ever.
- Sole authority is good when it’s over the TV remote, not when it’s over the entire nuclear system. Representative Lieu and Senator Markey introduced Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons on Monday, starting the process to end sole authority. No one person should have the power to launch a nuclear first strike, and this bill puts Congress between the President and his red button.
Senator Elizabeth Warren
- We know that first use isn’t the end of the story though, there are still people suffering from the damages already done. Also on Tuesday, Representatives Gosar, Grijalva, Gallego and Biggs introduced the Downwinders Compensation Act, H.R.757, to address the glaring flaws in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
Representative Adam Smith
The story can’t end here. It’s time for Representatives and Senators to call or fold, and if they fold on these issues they need to know their constituents will hold them accountable for it. The stakes are too high to let these bills die, which is where you come in. It would take a President ten minutes to launch a nuclear weapon and fundamentally change the world for the worse. Instead, you could use ten minutes to write your Representative, and let them know that 2019 is the year we put our foot down on nuclear weapons use now and forever.
