Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth Signs Letter Calling Congress to Halt and Reverse Nuclear Arms Race
Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth recently signed onto an open letter to members of Congress in support of H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323 urging the United States to lead the world back from the brink of nuclear war and halt and reverse the nuclear arms race.
The stated resolutions call for the U.S. to adopt policies to address the past and current harm caused by nuclear weapons, to refrain from resuming nuclear explosive testing, and to provide for a just economic transition for the people and communities whose livelihoods depend on nuclear weapons.
Read the full letter below.
Open Letter to Members of Congress in Support of H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323 Urging the United States to Lead the World Back from the Brink of Nuclear War and Halt and Reverse the Nuclear Arms Race
One need only ask the mayors and people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki why nuclear weapons are a local issue. In fact, nuclear weapons policies and spending impact every community and person in the United States and throughout the world.
With this year’s 80th anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in mind we, the undersigned local, county and state elected officials throughout the United States write to urge you to co-sponsor House Resolution 317 and Senate Resolution 323, “Urging the United States to Lead the World Back from the Brink of Nuclear War and Halt and Reverse the Nuclear Arms Race.”
These resolutions articulate a truly comprehensive nuclear disarmament framework that calls for the U.S. to lead efforts among all nuclear-armed states to abolish nuclear weapons and adopt common sense policy prescriptions to reduce nuclear risks being advocated by the national Back from the Brink campaign – www.preventnuclearwar.org.
These congressional resolutions further call for the U.S. to adopt policies to address the past and current harm caused by nuclear weapons, to refrain from resuming nuclear explosive testing, and to provide for a just economic transition for the people and communities whose livelihoods depend on nuclear weapons.
Past, Present and Future Harm to Communities
We as elected officials share a collective responsibility to do all we can to protect our constituents and our communities. Nuclear weapons don’t make our communities or country safe but instead continue to cause grievous harm and threaten us all.
From radioactive exposure affecting marginalized groups near test sites to the exploitation of natural resources for uranium mining, nuclear weapons have left a devastating legacy.
Proposed plans to spend close to $1 trillion over the next decade to develop and deploy nuclear weapons are tax dollars not being spent to feed, house and provide affordable health care to our constituents, address severe infrastructure needs, support our veterans, confront climate change, or to ensure folks have clean air, water and soil.
Prevention and Abolition Are Possible
No community can effectively prepare for a nuclear war. Experts say that even a “limited” nuclear war could lead to global climate and economic disruption and widespread famine while a large-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia or China could kill up to ¾ of the world’s people and effectively end human civilization.
The only effective way to make sure nuclear weapons are never again used is to abolish all of them – which is both possible and practicable if decision makers in the United States and around the world recognize our collective global self-interest in confronting this existential threat to our communities, our future, and all we hold dear.
We Need Your Leadership
A nuclear disarmament mandate is already a matter of law. Article VI of the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), to which the United States was an original party, provides: “Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament….” The United States has consistently affirmed its intent to fulfill Article VI of the NPT.
There is nothing partisan or ideological about wanting to protect our communities, our country, our planet. Preventing nuclear war is everyone’s concern and Congress has an essential role and voice in shaping U.S. nuclear weapons policies and spending.
Please raise your voice and show moral and political leadership by cosponsoring H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323 and recognizing and honoring the hibakusha – the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings - and all who have suffered from the development, testing, production and use of nuclear weapons.
