If you missed the speech (maybe watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – what an adorable winner) or want to review it again, please see the transcript here.

Overall the agenda that the President laid out looks pretty bold and wonderful to us at WAND and here is a sampling of a few things we especially liked:

• We agree that looming automatic “sequester” cuts are bad and especially agree that “some in this Congress have proposed preventing only the defense cuts by making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training; Medicare and Social Security benefits.  That idea is even worse.”
• We really like the commitment to provide high-quality preschool for every child. Maybe we’ll send the President one of our “Children Ask the World of Us” posters. We liked many other new efforts supporting education and jobs and needed investments – including raising the minimum wage and increasing the number of high-tech investment hubs. Analysts have been wondering where the funds for these new investments will come from – especially since the President promised not to add to the deficit.  We’re a bit curious about this too but would like to recommend one good place to look for cost savings: the Pentagon.
• When it comes to Afghanistan, we are glad to hear the President’s intent to remove 34,000 troops during this year, but note that still leaves too many. Further, as the transition in Afghanistan moves forward, it is essential to plan how to help Afghanistan create a sustainable peace. One necessary ingredient is the leadership of Afghan women in this peace building effort.
• We were glad that the President highlighted (at least briefly) commitments to reduce nuclear weapons: “We will engage Russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenals, and continue leading the global effort to secure nuclear materials that could fall into the wrong hands – because our ability to influence others depends on our willingness to lead.”  Indeed, and part of our leadership should be moving forward to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) enabling us to more effectively lead in detecting, deterring and confronting nuclear tests like those recently conducted in North Korea.
• It was great that the President noted the Senate’s recent passage of the Violence Against Women Act and called upon the House to do the same. We hope for swift reauthorization of VAWA this year.

The President ended by noting that as citizens, we all have obligations: “Well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter in our American story.” As WAND women we are ready to take on the role of citizen authors again this year as we work for sound budget priorities for a safe, secure and thriving America.

Many of WAND/WiLL Women in Congress commented on the President’s State of the Union Speech, to see a sampling of these click 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.

Ellen Tauscher, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security was one of the guest speakers.

You can hear Ellen's address here (she spoke at 12:30).

To read a transcript of the speech "The Case for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty" go here.

In an article published that same day by Reuters, Susan Cornwell writes:  "The Obama administration said on Tuesday it was preparing a push for approval of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, arguing that Washington no longer needs to conduct nuclear tests but needs to stop other countries from doing so.

Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher said a legally binding global ban on testing would help pressure states like Iran from engaging in illicit nuclear activities and discourage an arms race in Asia, where rivals India and Pakistan have conducted nuclear explosions." To read the entire article, please go here.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen also spoke at the event. Sen. Shaheen is a WAND/WiLL Woman in the Senate where she serves on both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Armed Service Committee. She is the first woman to have been elected both a Governor (NH) and U.S. Senator. She spoke at our WAND WiLL National Conference in 2007 prior to her election to the U.S. Senate.

To read a transcript of her speech, please go here.

You can check out a video of her speech here.

WAND will continue to work on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in the coming months. Please check back often for more information as it becomes available.

Two years ago, President Obama delivered a landmark speech in Prague, Czech Republic.  The Prague Agenda, delivered on April 5, 2009 outlined the steps needed to move toward a safer world, one without nuclear weapons.

“So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”

In this important speech, the President made specific commitments to achieve the goals of this agenda.

“To reduce our warheads and stockpiles, we will negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Russians this year. President Medvedev and I began this process in London, and will seek a new agreement by the end of this year that is legally binding and sufficiently bold."

“To achieve a global ban on nuclear testing, my administration will immediately and aggressively pursue U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. After more than five decades of talks, it is time for the testing of nuclear weapons to finally be banned.”

Peace and security groups welcomed President Obama’s Prague speech as a signal of progress. Since then, these groups have been working diligently to ensure that the steps of the Prague Agenda can be realized. At WAND we have have used this momentum to move the Prague Agenda forward.

We have had significant victories. On December 23, 2010 The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was ratified by the U.S. Senate. This treaty limits the U.S. and Russia to no more than 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 800 deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles. The treaty also includes a streamlined and updated system of verification provisions to ensure each side that the other is complying with the treaty stipulations. Ratification followed a year of intense negotiations and heated debate on the Senate Floor.

There is still work to do. The battle for the CTBT has only just begun. Congress is currently making sweeping budget cuts that may affect funding for nuclear non proliferation programs. Proposed spending cuts to the National Nuclear Security Administration for the remainder of this budget year would have a significant impact on the agency's nuclear stockpile and nonproliferation operation, jeopardizing the President’s commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons.

On this anniversary of the landmark Prague speech by President Obama, please accept WAND’s thanks for all that you have helped us to accomplish. We will continue to work towards a more safe and secure world, and we thank you for your continued dedication. Your calls, emails, and support for our work make it all possible.

Continue to promote a safer world by joining in our April 5^th campaign for the Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World.

You help us build a better future!

Thank you!

“Human destiny will be what we make of it. And here in Prague, let us honor our past by reaching for a better future. Let us bridge our divisions, build upon our hopes, accept our responsibility to leave this world more prosperous and more peaceful than we found it. Together we can do it.”

WAND was also involved in educating EAD participants about the defense budget. WAND Policy Director Kathy Robinson joined a panel of women experts to lead the workshop Budget Hysteria: How Can we be Both Fiscally and Morally Responsible on the Budget? Kathy discussed how our nation’s unbalanced budget priorities are compromised byexcessive military spending, including money spent on nuclear weapons.

At the WAND table, staff used a “bean poll” to survey EAD participants about how they would spend their tax payer money. Results indicate that most EAD attendees would rather have more of their taxes go towards education, health care, and the environment instead of the military! Even our nation's leaders are speaking out about military spending. See what our elected officials have to say!

Let’s continue to build on the momentum of the federal budget debates to reduce wasteful military spending and fund basic human needs!

The letter below was distributed earlier this week by Georgia WAND's Executive Director Bobbie Paul and President of the Board Bernita Smith.

"As details continue to unfold about the tragedy in northeast Japan we are deeply concerned about the compromised nuclear reactors and radiation exposures that are causing death or serious illness to those working on the reactors and to those living near-by. The latest accounts Monday report that Fukushima No. 2 reactor is in danger of a melt down because its fuel rods were fully exposed at one point after standard cooling functions failed.  It is feared that an explosion in the No. 2 reactor similar to those in the No. 1 and 3 reactors at Fukushima is imminent.

There are an estimated 1.4 million people without water or power in Japan and hundreds of casualties. Over 185,000 residents have been evacuated from the area. Japanese officials are dispensing potassium iodide pills to evacuation centers in an attempt to protect people’s thyroid gland from radioactive iodine-131 that was released into the atmosphere.

Georgia WAND hopes that a growing renewable energy sector will soon make nuclear power generation obsolete. We ask all those who support nuclear power expansion and the federal loans needed to prop it up - whether here or in other parts of the world - to rethink their position and consider how nuclear power threatens the safety and health of those who live directly downwind and downstream of nuclear power plants. By combining intelligence with imagination we can face "unthinkable" scenarios and turn towards much less risky energy solutions.  Our commitment to environmental justice demands that we continue to take action for those who suffer this kind of nuclear terrorism.

One action we suggest is to send President Obama a message asking him to end federal support for nuclear power expansion in this country. Your opinion matters. www.whitehouse.gov Urge the President to eliminate costly government bailouts in the form of loan guarantees to the nuclear industry including the $8.3 billion his administration awarded to Southern Company/Georgia Power for two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Burke, County, Georgia.  Thank you.

Here is a link to a report from the BBC, dated March 13, about the reactor situation. Be sure to scroll all the way down to see photos and film footage.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12726628.

Sincerely,

-Bobbie Paul, Executive Director

-Bernita Smith, President of the Board

FYI - The Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 reactor that exploded on Saturday, March 12, 2011, was a General Electric Mark I reactor. It is the same model used for both reactors at Plant Hatch, located on the Altamaha River in SE Georgia. These reactors came online in 1975 and 1979."

To read more from Georgia WAND, please visit www.georgiawand.org

For more information on New START check out our resource page.