WAND’s February Bulletin
- Sec. Clinton and Foreign Minister Lavrov signing ratification documents
WAND NEWS
Successful START- Next Steps
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) went into effect on Saturday, February 5th, 2011. On that historic day, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exchanged final New START ratification documents at a security conference in Munich, Germany. This exchange finalized New START and will lead to the first reciprocal on-site inspection of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals in nearly two years.
At the Munich conference Secy. of State Clinton said, “When we met two years ago not long after the 2009 Munich Conference, we exchanged gifts, ideas, and pledges to repair relations between our countries, and today we exchange the instruments of ratification for a treaty that lessens the nuclear dangers facing the Russian and American people and the world.” More on the exchange of ratification documents can be found here.
Thank you to everyone who joined WAND in the 2009-2010 effort to secure Senate ratification of this vital treaty to reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons and ensure a more stable U.S. nuclear relationship with Russia.
In the past months of our START Campaign, you have helped us in many ways. For example:
• Over 1300 emails were sent to Senators asking for consideration and ratification of START through our WAND Take Action Center.
• WAND and WiLL (Women Legislators’ Lobby) organized over 50 meetings with U.S. Senators on Capitol Hill or in their home states.
• WAND published hundreds of letters to the editor and opinion editorial pieces in different newspapers and online news sources throughout the country.
New START is a great victory, but it is only a first step. We have much more work to do as we pursue efforts to reduce nuclear dangers and achieve a safer world without nuclear weapons. WAND joined with other organizations sending a letter to the President urging him to pursue some important steps. See the letter here.
One of our top priorities is ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to ban any nuclear weapons explosions. The CTBT is vital to our security. It would curb the spread of nuclear weapons, and establish a global monitoring network to detect and deter cheating. WAND will be working to build the case for the CTBT.
For more on the CTBT see the Project for the CTBT website here.
As Budget Mess “Debate” Builds, WAND Calls for New Priorities
On Monday, February 14, the Administration will release its budget for the coming Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. As the President’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) aptly stated in a recent op-ed: “The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.” The enumerated values and aspirations of this Valentine’s Day budget request is not likely to be met with much love from Congress, where there is much hand-wringing about the debt and the mood is to slash spending – at least for everything except the Pentagon budget.
The President forecasted his budget plan in his recent State of the Union Address, outlining aims to invest in education and innovation but also efforts to restrain spending. Unfortunately the President seems unwilling to truly scrutinize military spending, relying on very modest proposals from Defense Secretary Gates that would only reduce some of the rate of spending increase for the Pentagon. Meanwhile, drastic cuts are looming for the rest of the discretionary budget.
The same week that the FY 2012 Budget Request is released, the House will consider funding for the remainder of this year. The annual appropriations process was not completed by the last Congress, thus a stopgap Continuing Resolution has funded most programs at the previous year’s spending level (FY 2010). When the Continuing Resolution expires on March 4, Congress is obligated to extend the stopgap measure or appropriate spending for the remaining seven months of this fiscal year. The House plans to slash spending for all so-called “non-security” spending and will likely make draconian cuts to a wide variety of programs while the Department of Defense is uniquely protected. It is not clear how the Senate will approach the FY 2011 appropriations, leaving some concerned that an impasse could lead to a government shutdown.
While the Republican-led House and the Democrat-led Senate will debate spending for this year and begin the budget process for FY 2012, the rising debt is looming. The debt ceiling, a cap set by Congress on the amount of debt the federal government can legally borrow, is likely to be reached sometime this spring. Without a Congressional vote to raise the ceiling, it is possible that the government could be unable to borrow money and would therefore go into default. Some in Congress are refusing to raise the ceiling without substantial spending cuts.
In this intense fray, we believe there must be a new focus on cuts to bloated military spending. In the last two years, military spending has been 58% of overall discretionary spending. Spending cuts that exempt defense will likely decimate critical programs and cripple our economy, while leaving us with increasing deficit spending for wars and outmoded Cold War weapons.
Stay tuned for more information and for actions you can take. We will be closely tracking developments and in the coming weeks will launch our annual letters to Congress about budget priorities. We hope you will join us throughout February and March as we work to get hundreds of signatures to call for budget priorities that really are a reflection of our nation’s values and aspirations!
WiLL recruitment efforts are in full swing!
Last year, we counted nearly one-third of women legislators as WiLL members, and we’re looking for new members to grow our ranks. We also welcome returning legislators who are joining WiLL for the first time or renewing their memberships. WiLL members receive access to timely materials and trainings and opportunities to raise awareness about the federal budget’s impact on the states. Learn more here! As we get ready for our biennial conference in Washington, DC on September 18-20, we want to have as many talented women join WiLL as possible! If you know of a woman legislator we should recruit, please email will@wand.org. Later this month we will also be collecting signatures from women legislators for our annual letter to Congress about the federal budget. Be on the lookout for more information soon!
Chapter and Field News
2011 Membership Drive
Your WAND membership counts! Help us reach greater heights in 2011 by becoming a member of WAND or renewing your membership today. Be part of a powerful community of women leading our country to a peaceful and secure future! Our 2011 Membership Drive has been extended until February 15. To learn more about the benefits of WAND membership, click here.
Field Visits
In an effort to learn best practices and grow WAND’s field activities, Field Coordinator Elaina Ramsey continues to visit all our chapters around the country. So far Elaina has experienced the southern hospitality of Georgia WAND and Arkansas WAND. She is excited to visit Oregon WAND at the end of February, followed by a trip to Northern Indiana WAND and Southeast Michigan WAND in early March. Visit our Flickr page to view pictures of the field visits.
Upcoming Conferences
A number of conferences and lobby days that focus on WAND’s issues are coming up in Washington, DC. Check out the links below for more information. Be sure to save the date for our very own WAND/WiLL Conference: September 18-20, 2011.
• Citizens for Global Solutions Conference ( March 17-18)
• Ecumenical Advocacy Days (March 25-28)
• Alliance for Nuclear Accountability DC Days (April 3-6)
• WAND/WiLL National Conference (September 18-20)
Upcoming Chapter Events
Arkansas WAND
As part of Black History Month, Arkansas WAND will feature its documentary Woodruff; A Lesson of Non-violence at the University of Central Arkansas, Reynolds Hall on February 11, 7:30pm. To learn more about this event, check out Arkansas WAND’s revamped website: http://arkwand.com/
Georgia WAND
Georgia WAND is hosting their 9th Annual “Real State of the Union” on Friday, February 11, featuring noted Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jay Bookman sharing his perspective on the state of American politics. This year, Tom Neilson, a political satirist and folk musician, will perform following Jay’s speech. The program will be held at the Horizon Theatre, 1083 Austin Avenue, Atlanta 30307. Please go to http://gawand.org/ or call 404-524-5999 for more information.
Oregon WAND
On February 25, Oregon WAND will host its second annual “Fashioning Resistance to Militarism” fashion show at the University of Oregon. This show uses fashion to uncover the high cost of militarism in women's lives, and depicts how the devastating effects of war have seeped into our homes, our closets, and our minds.
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