On that day in 2009 few foresaw just how serious and deep a recession we were entering. State budgets were slashed just as more and more people needed services to prevent economic catastrophes in their own lives. Congress engaged in heated debates about spending, and almost allowed the government to shut down. We at WAND were pleased to see that after a decade of unchecked growth in the Pentagon budget, there was finally some action in Congress to limit Pentagon spending, but there is still much more to be done. We will continue to work with members on both sides of the aisle to bring fiscal discipline to Pentagon spending. We cannot afford to spend money on weapons we don’t need and pad Pentagon contractors’ pockets. We must fight for investments in the things that make us strong here at home and counter the influence of Pentagon lobbyists.

President Obama campaigned for an end to the Iraq War and he quickly followed through on that promise. He is also bringing an end to the war in Afghanistan. Yet we know that even as our troops come home, we must ensure that women and children in Afghanistan do not lose the gains they have made. We must continue to work for political, not military, solutions to the conflict in Afghanistan. We can
also do more to ensure the rights of women all over the world with ratification of CEDAW, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and passing legislation in support of the National Action Place on Women, Peace, and Security.

Successful, bipartisan ratification of the New START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a huge victory in December 2010. We will continue to push for ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. President Obama’s speech in Prague in the spring of 2010 was a reminder that while we may have a long road ahead of us, a world free of nuclear weapons is a goal worth working for. First up, we must stop pouring billions of dollars into maintaining and modernizing these Cold War-era relics. WAND has been working for a world safe from the threat of nuclear weapons for over thirty years. We’ll continue this fight in the next four years of President Obama’s administration.

Finally, how could we not celebrate the record number of women entering Congress this year? We are eager to get to work with returning champions on our issues and bring newly elected women into critical debates about our national security and budget priorities. This year’s Inauguration Day falls on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As he so powerfully said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” We may be starting this term with less unbridled optimism, but we know that our priories are worth fighting for and we will continue to work hard with all of our WAND members for a better country and a better world.

Nuclear disarmament has been a key issue for President Obama since his time in the Senate and this affirmation is important to remind the country, Congress, and his own administration, that this problem is ongoing and is vital to national and global security.

Read the full speech here.

Testimony was given by acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs Madelyn Creedon, and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and Under Secretary for Nuclear Security Thomas D’Agostino.

In addition to Committee Chair Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), both strong supporters of New START, a few additional Committee members participated in the hearing. Notably, New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), champion of nuclear arms control and WAND’s 2011 Torchbearer Award recipient, was there to ask crucial questions on topics ranging from how the New START treaty increases Russian transparency to the future of nuclear weapons in the American security strategy. Emphasizing the need and benefits of reducing the American stockpile, Sen. Shaheen argued that, “The treaty increases transparency, strengthens international stability and gives the Department of Defense the certainty it needs to protect our security in an efficient and cost-effective way.”

We, here at WAND, want to especially recognize the women leading on the nuclear security issue who were prominent at this hearing - Sen. Shaheen for her excellent questions and leadership, and Under Secretary Gottemoeller and Assistant Secretary Creedon for their excellent testimony and continuing dedicated work to reduce nuclear dangers. In a field largely dominated by men, it is refreshing to see women leading so effectively on security issues.

See a video of the hearing on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee website.

-Mylinda McDaniel, WAND Research Fellow - Doctoral Candidate at West Virginia University

The president has made the right commitment to “put an end to Cold War thinking” and the administration’s thorough study should recommend bold steps in this direction. Now is the time to reduce nuclear dangers and move towards a world free of nuclear weapons. Read "Reason over Relics" to learn why it makes sense to restructure our nuclear force.

Please take a moment today to encourage President Obama to start his spring cleaning by moving to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons use by accident, miscalculation or intent.

Join WAND in a nationwide effort to push the Obama administration to move us closer to a safer world without nuclear weapons. Sign our petition today! 

Our goal is to collect 50,000 petition signatures by March 31st to show widespread American support for further dramatic steps that would make us all safer from the threat of nuclear weapons. So far, we have about 25,000 names.

Please join thousands of Americans by adding your voice today!

Over the next few months, President Obama will write new guidance that will lead to the latest nuclear war plan and new requirements for the size and structure of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It could be the President’s last major opportunity to shift U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons.

Now is our opportunity to make our voices heard, to press President Obama to make good on his pledge to “put an end to Cold War thinking” and pursue further, dramatic steps that would make us all safer from the threat of nuclear weapons.

Join WAND in a nationwide effort to push the Obama administration to move us closer to a nuclear weapons free world. Sign our petition today!

Organizations around the country are coming together with a goal of generating 50,000 petition signatures to the President by March 31 to show widespread American support for steps to eliminate nuclear weapons. We need your help to build this groundswell!

Join thousands of Americans urging the President to “Put It in Writing” to help make the world a safer place free from the threat of nuclear weapons.

Act now!

Until 1963, the United States conducted atmospheric nuclear tests. In the process, they blanketed a wide radius with hazardous levels of nuclear fallout, especially affecting parts of Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, where most of the tests took place. Decades later, it became clear that people who were living in those areas had drastically increased rates of cancer. Most severely affected were people who were children at the time and frequently drank milk containing large amounts of radiation. When consumed, the fallout gathers in the thyroid gland and may cause thyroid cancer later in life.

In 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and in the time since, the US government has granted compensation to 16,000 people, amounting to nearly $800 million. However, about 4,000 people have still been denied compensation, and money does not necessarily make up for the terrible consequences of cancer.

This experience is one of many examples of why nuclear testing must be permanently banned and makes clear that the United States Senate should ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). In fact, one of our Women Legislators’ Lobby Pacesetter awardees, Representative Jennifer Seelig (D-UT), has worked hard on this issue, having led the successful 2010 effort in Utah’s House of Representatives to unanimously pass a resolution in support of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

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For More information about National Downwinders Day and the effects of nuclear testing, go here: http://www.ctbto.org/specials/infamous-anniversaries/27-january-1951-the-first-nuclear-test-at-the-nevada-test-site/

This post was written by WAND DC intern Hayley Anderson. 

Indonesia's endorsement makes it the 156th country to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

The Asian state was among nine remaining countries whose ratifications are required for the treaty that was negotiated in the mid-1990s to take effect. There are eight countries still left to ratify the CTBT including the U.S., China, India, Iran and Israel.

To read a full article on Indonesia's recent ratification, please go here.

To check out WAND's information on the CTBT, please go here.

As the Markey letter indicates, cost savings should come from spending on the Cold War-era U.S. nuclear arsenal which still exceeds 5,000 nuclear weapons. We are now spending about $50 billion per year on nuclear weapons and related costs. The letter says that we should “freeze the nukes so we can fund the future.”

A total of 65 U.S. Representatives signed the letter urging the Super Committee to reduce the deficit by cutting nuclear weapons spending! Check below to see if your Representative signed on to the Markey letter.

Your calls to your Representative about the Markey Letter to Freeze the Nukes Fund the Future made all the difference. Thank you!

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Arizona

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

California

Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)

Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)

Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA)

Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA)

Rep. George Miller (D-CA)

Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)

Colorado

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)

DC

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Florida

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)

Georgia

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)

Hawaii

Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Illinois

Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL)

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Iowa

Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA)

Kentucky

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY)

Maryland

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD)

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)

Massachusetts

Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA)

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)

Rep. William Keating (D-MA)

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA)

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA)

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)

Rep. Richard Neal (MA)

Rep. John Olver (D-MA)

Rep. John Tierney (D-MA)

Maine

Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME)

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

Michigan

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)

Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI)

Minnesota

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

New Jersey

Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ)

New York

Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-NY)

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)

Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY)

North Carolina

Rep. David Price (D-NC)

Ohio

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)

Oregon

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)

Pennsylvania

Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA)

Tennessee

Rep. Steven Cohen (D-TN)

Texas

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)

Vermont

Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)

Virginia

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)

Washington

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)

Wisconsin

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)

Ban Ki Moon at the former test site in April 2010, asking world leaders to move towards a world free of nuclear weapons.

By Annie Jennings, WAND Nuclear Security Research Fellow

In 2009, August 29^th was declared the International Day Against Nuclear Testing. This year, August 29^th also marks the 20^th anniversary of the shutdown of the former Soviet Union’s largest and most destructive nuclear weapons test site in Kazakhstan. Over its 40 year history, the Semipalatinsk site adversely affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kazakhstani citizens and unjustly exposed them to harmful amounts of radiation. Many were killed or marred by the over 450 nuclear blasts that took place at the testing ground.  For more on Kazakhstan tests including photos see “Slow Death In Kazakhstan's Land Of Nuclear Tests”

The fall of the Soviet Union granted a new opportunity to Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev. In 1991 Kazakhstan’s Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was shut down and nuclear weapons were banned from the country. This was in part a response to wide-scale protests by the Kazakhstani people calling for nuclear disarmament and a ban on nuclear testing. Similar movements took place around the world in the following years and lead to nuclear testing moratoriums in the Soviet Union and then the United States. This opened the way for negotiations on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

The CTBT is an essential non-proliferation tool.  Ending nuclear testing with this global verifiable treaty will impede nuclear-armed countries aiming to develop new, more deadly nuclear bombs and will help prevent new nuclear weapons programs from emerging. While treaty negotiations were completed in 1996 and the CTBT now has now been ratified by 154 countries, there are still nine countries, including the United States that must ratify the treaty in order for it to go into effect.  The United States has not conducted nuclear weapons test explosions since 1992 and has no need or plans to resume tests. But the Senate has yet to ratify the treaty even though doing so would allow the United States to better detect, deter and confront other countries nuclear weapons testing programs. See WAND’s CTBT Fact Sheet.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon stated on Thursday, August 25^th that “We urgently need new progress in achieving a world free of both nuclear tests AND nuclear weapons.” Nuclear non-proliferation efforts often focus on nuclear material controls and disarmament. Despite the successes in these areas it must be recognized that banning nuclear tests is no less important than reducing arms or preventing the creation and/or transfer of nuclear material. All three efforts contribute to reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism and nuclear war, and increase our U.S. and world security.

In the past 15 years, three new nuclear powers have emerged and others may be close. The framework for detecting tests and enforcing the ban is already present. However, the threat can only be reduced when the nine states required for the CTBT to go into effect ratify. The International Day Against  Nuclear Tests is a day to reflect on the benefits of the CTBT as well as a day to reflect on the consequences of not moving forward.

Kathy Crandall Robinson, WAND's Public Policy Director recently published an op-ed commemorating the anniversary of the Trinity test and calling for ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

"Fifteen years ago, the United States was the first country to sign the CTBT. U.S. leadership had galvanized multilateral negotiations that resulted in the verifiable treaty to detect, deter and confront countries that would test nuclear weapons. Victory had seemed so close, but then the Senate got tangled up in a rushed partisan political debate, failing to ratify the treaty. Now, the world awaits the United States to put its weight behind a push for a treaty we led the way in establishing. It’s past time to reassert leadership for America’s security. And it’s past time to complete unfinished business. The Senate should consider the new evidence for this essential treaty and ratify the CTBT."

To read the op ed in its entirety, please visit the Augusta Free Press website here.