Last night, WAND Executive Director Susan Shaer presented Congressman Edward J. Markey (MA-7) with an award from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) in honor of his effective Congressional leadership in constraining nuclear weapons programs and championing nuclear power safety issues.

"I am honored to receive this award from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability as it celebrates its 25th anniversary,” says Congressman Markey. “It also is with great pleasure that I will receive the award from my great friend and constituent Susan Shaer, the executive director of Women's Action for New Directions. The ANA, WAND and all of the Association's member organizations have long been powerful and effective voices for creating a world free of nuclear weapons and the damage they inflict. Their robust grassroots work is transforming the Cold War nuclear legacy from insanity to accountability. I will continue to fight to end the spread of unneeded nuclear weapons and the wasteful spending that funds Minutemen missiles ahead of Medicare, and I look forward to working with the ANA, WAND and all of these committed groups to ensure a safe, healthy, equitable future for future generations."

“If we could put the nuclear weapons genie back in the bottle, we certainly would, but we must deal with the reality,” says Susan Shaer. “Policy that will help keep the world safer can come from our own Congress, and Congressman Markey is the champion for that cause. For more than 30 years, he has sustained his drive to constrain nuclear weapons programs to protect the U.S. and the world. Especially in these times, when there are so many doubters about elected leadership doing their jobs, Ed Markey’s tenaciousness should be heralded. WAND is 30 years old this year, and our history with Mr. Markey has covered those 30 years. We are pleased to be able to present this award.”

This past week, WAND joined scores of ANA activists in Washington participating in nearly 100 meetings with Obama Administration and Congressional leaders as part of ANA’s 24th annual DC Days. The awards reception honored individuals who have been leaders in the movement to clean up radioactive waste, stop unnecessary weapons research and production, and address the needs of those contaminated by nuclear facilities. Other 2012 awardees include Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), "downwinders" advocate Mary Dickson, and Russian environmental organizer Oleg Bodrov.

ANA is a network of three dozen organizations working together on issues of nuclear weapons production and radioactive waste cleanup. As a member organization, WAND continually works to address these concerns and redirect priorities away from the military and toward unmet human needs.

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!

Thank you to all who sent messages to their member of Congress! Now as we move towards a transition in Afghanistan, it is time to turn our attention to building a sustainable peace with Afghan women at the table.

Did your U.S. Representative sign the letter? If so, send a note of thanks! Read an alphabetical list of all members of Congress who signed the letter here.

Read “A Peace-Building Transition Strategy for Afghanistan” from WAND and the Kroc Institute for Peace Studies, and our recent blog Lots of interest, little consensus, for even more on building peace in Afghanistan.

First, some overall numbers:

The Federal budget Request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 is $3.67 trillion. (We will spend $3.8 trillion - including money authorized in FY 2012.)

$2.27 trillion (about 62%) goes to mandatory spending – including earned-benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare.

$1.15 trillion (about 31%) goes to discretionary spending. This is the part of the budget that Congress debates and votes on each year. There are a whole variety of competing program priorities in the discretionary budget with everything from spending on transportation, energy and environment, education, foreign affairs, military spending and more.

The deficit is projected to be $901 Billion.

Within the discretionary budget, about $639 billion, or 56 % goes to military spending.

Included in military spending is: the Department of Defense base budget of $ 525.4 billion, War Spending of $88.5 billion, Nuclear Weapons and related spending about $18 billion and the FBI and other defense related activities is another $7.2 billion.

Who pays the austerity price? With the fiscal crisis, we all knew that there would be pressure to make spending cuts in this budget.

This year the Department of Defense did break its decade of phenomenal budget growth with a modest 1% reduction in the coming year. The Pentagon is starting to tighten its belt – by reducing its planned rate of growth over the coming decade. It’s a good start, but we think deeper reductions are needed to create a sustainable budget geared to national security needs of this century.  See our latest blog post titled “Helping the Pentagon to Fitness” for more information.

Spending on wars is also down for 2013, dropping from $115 billion to $88.5 billion. With the Iraq war ended and the announcement that withdrawal of combat troops, we think that this budget could come down more. We note that the President proclaimed in his State of the Union Speech that we should, “Take the money we're no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.”  We agree with the sentiment, but we need to make deeper cuts to war spending in order to do this.

• Please take action to urge accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Not all military spending went down though.  When it comes to nuclear weapons, our love affair with Cold War is alive and well. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) weapons activities account that funds nuclear weapons complex production rose by 5% compared to 2012. At the same time, the NNSA program to dismantle nuclear weapons dropped by 9.4%. Dismantlement continues at a ponderously slow rate, leaving hundreds of nuclear weapons waiting for decades to be dismantled. The NNSA also cut back on some of the most crucial nuclear nonproliferation programs helping to secure nuclear materials and prevent nuclear terrorism. Instead a large portion of funds dedicated to nuclear nonproliferation are being spent on a dangerous expensive plutonium fuel program.

• The President is now preparing guidance shaping U.S. nuclear policy. Sign our petition telling the President to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons.
• Then tell Congress to the cut nuclear weapons budget with the SANE Act (Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures).

In contrast to military spending, other overall discretionary spending shrinks more – by about 5%. Here are a few illustrative examples of heartbreaking cuts in discretionary spending. (Note the impact that these cuts will have on state budgets.)

• Cut by 48 % ($329 million) Community Service Block Grants providing grants to States, territories, and Indian Tribes for programs that provide services and activities to reduce poverty. Domestic violence shelters are often funded by under this program.
• Cut by 15 % ($359 million) the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) CleanWater and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), which provide capitalization grants to States for their own water infrastructure revolving funds. States provide a 20 percent match and, then, make loans to municipalities for water infrastructure projects, with repayments returned to their revolving fund, allowing them to finance additional projects.
• Cut by 13% ($452 million) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help struggling families make ends meet by offsetting some of their home heating and cooling costs.

Are these the places in the budget you would have cut first? If not, it’s time to speak up.  Stay tuned as WAND provides more information and analysis of the budget (our famous pie charts are coming soon!)

• Please join us on February 28 for a special Webinar with expert budget analysis from the National Priorities Project’s Chris Hellman.

We also urge you to Join WAND and take action - this year will be full of opportunities to speak up for budget priorities that reflect your values.

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).

...

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. 

As we listened to the President’s speech on Tuesday, we at WAND heard much that we liked. While we were disappointed that some of our core issues weren’t well addressed, we note that in this election year, this isn’t the last significant policy speech we’ll hear. 

Below are some specific highlights and themes from the State of the Union speech that provide us with some hints about the coming year and the agenda that WAND will pursue in 2012. Join WAND this year as we move our agenda to shape the state of the union. Help us to empower women to pursue policies for peace, security and sound budget priorities— you can start by responding to the State of the Union with a letter to the editor! If you’d like help writing and placing a letter, contact Elaina Ramsey.

War and Peace

The President started off his speech by highlighting the return of troops from Iraq and ended it with the killing of Osama Bin Laden.  It was noteworthy that the President emphasized that the “tide of war is turning” and proclaimed that we should, “Take the money we're no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.”

WAND has been pressing for a focus on nation-building at home since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afhanistan. The President also reminded us that veterans need jobs and health care. WAND would add that this is something we should always remember before we even think about going to war.

The President spoke about beginning a transition in Afghanistan with the aim to “build an enduring partnership with Afghanistan.” We agree, and this year WAND will push for a transition in Afghanistan that provides the foundation for a sustainable peace and fosters Afghan women to play a key role in building this peace. 

Building a Sustainable Economy – Right Investments

The core of the President’s speech focused on developing “a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last,” with an emphasis on creating jobs and investing in education and clean energy. We like that. And we like that he noted that as our nation gets back to work, women should “earn equal pay for equal work.”

We will be better able to make the right investments to create a sustainable economy, if we cut the bloated, excessive Pentagon spending. While the President indicated some cost saving efforts at the Defense Department, we know that there is still too much wasteful, unsustainable spending based on Cold War strategies. Instead, we need the right strategy to provide 21^st century security matched with sustainable spending that preserves economic security. As chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey put it: “It makes no sense at all for us as a nation to have an extraordinarily capable military instrument of power if we are economically disadvantaged around the world.”  We need to invest in teachers, and clean energy jobs not in more nuclear submarines.

Bipartisanship

It’s really worth watching and not just listening to the State of the Union. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, seated with her Republican colleague Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and hugging the President, brought tears to our eyes.  House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has called Giffords the “brightest star Congress has ever seen.” With unmatched eloquence Gabby Giffords has said, “We can do so much more by working together.” 

The President also knows that Washington has to work better to move forward. He said:

[…] None of this can happen unless we also lower the temperature in this town.  We need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction; that politics is about clinging to rigid ideologies instead of building consensus around common-sense ideas.

National Security Investments/ America’s Role in World

Despite the best intentions of reasonable people, 2012 is an election year and it’s likely to be harder to find agreement about anything. National security is one area where bipartisanship should be an imperative. How can there possibly be disagreement about issues like preventing nuclear terrorism.  Every American wants the United States to be a leader in the world for peace and security, and a favorite line for us was:

From the coalitions we’ve built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we’ve led against hunger and disease…. America is back.

Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

In the coming year we will urge bipartisan support from Congress and the President to make sure that investments and efforts to secure nuclear materials are strengthened and sustained.'

Join WAND this year as we work to establish sound budget priorities to provide peace and security to support human security and foster sustainable peace. You can get involved now:

• On February 3, you’re invited to a Conference Call with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis about job investments and women.
• Stay tuned for fact sheets, webinars and action opportunities addressing federal budget priorities and cuts to excessive military spending.   

We hope you’ll continue act and engage to improve the state of our union with WAND!

Join us for a very special teleconference with the Department of Labor!

Friday, February 3, 2012

2:30PM EST

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis invites you to attend:

Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) and Women Legislators’ Lobby (WiLL) Call

Please join U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, Department of Labor Chief Economist Dr. Adriana Kugler, and Women Legislators’ Lobby President State Senator Nan Orrock for a timely briefing for members of the Women Legislators’ Lobby (WiLL) and Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND). Highlights will include Department of Labor initiatives for women and working families, as well as the importance of unemployment insurance benefits for women across the nation.

Call-In Number: 1-800-779-9045
Passcode (you give to operator): UI Call

To secure your spot on the call and ensure that we have enough lines for everyone who wishes to participate, please RSVP at: http://s.dol.gov/M0

This call is off the record and NOT for press purposes. We hope you are able to join.

Please contact A’shanti Gholar, Special Assistant to the Secretary in the Office of Public Engagement, at Gholar.Ashanti.F@dol.gov with any questions or concerns.

Comment here using Twitter to share your wishes for 2012 or comment here to post your wishes on WAND's Facebook wall.

We will highlight some of our most inspiring and favorite hopes for 2012 in an email to all of our friends! Thank you for your continued support and all that you do to make the world a better place.

Have a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!

-From all of the WAND Team

The NAP is the outcome of a process that began over a decade ago with the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which encouraged the UN and its member states to integrate a "gender perspective" in all aspects of peace and security. In October 2004, a subsequent Security Council Presidential Statement called on the “development of national action plans” to further implement SCR 1325.

The NAP states that the US will "institutionalize a gender-responsive approach to its diplomatic, development, and defense-related work in conflict affected environments," and will work to increase women's rights and "substantive participation in peace processes, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, transitional processes, and decision making institutions in conflict-affected environments." In institutionalizing this framework, the United States joins over 30 countries that already have adopted similar foreign policies to promote the welfare and the security of women and girls.

In an address yesterday at Georgetown University, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it is time for the U.S. to “fundamentally change the ways we do business” with regards to women’s issues and implored the audience to join the fight for equal protections and opportunities for women the world over.
Nowhere is this lesson more applicable than in Afghanistan, as we look to move away from war toward a political peace process that can and should include women’s voices. Civil society cannot exist harmoniously without the equal participation of women. After 10 long years of war, States must make a commitment to provide for long-term, sustainable investments in development programs that support and empower Afghan women.

“Too few (women) are empowered to be instruments of peace and security,” Secretary Clinton said yesterday. “That is an unacceptable waste of talent.” To build a stronger Afghan civil society that fosters gender equality and human rights, more women’s voices must be heard and recognized. In an attempt to draw conflicts to an end sooner, the NAP will expand women’s participation “before, during and after” wartime.

As Secretary Clinton emphasized, “women are not just the victims of war. They are agents of peace.” The time has come not only to end the war in Afghanistan, but to also ensure that women play a prominent role in the peacemaking process, taking a seat at the tables of power during all phases of negotiation.

Resources:

• National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security
• NAP fact sheet
• White House blog by Valerie Jarrett