Nuclear Weapons Week of Action May 17-21: Call your Senators

Will the Senate stand in the way of a safer world, or will it support a new nuclear weapons treaty to reduce the huge US and Russian nuclear weapons arsenals?

Last week, President Obama formally submitted the New START treaty to cut nuclear weapons to the US Senate. Key Senate committees will be holding hearings beginning tomorrow and Republican senators are weighing whether or not to support the treaty.

With more than 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world today, we have 23,000 chances for an accidental nuclear launch or for a weapon to fall into the wrong hands with devastating consequences. The US and Russia have 95 percent of the world’s stockpiles. The New START treaty can make us all that much safer by reducing both countries’ arsenals and paving the way for future progress to reduce the nuclear threat. [1]

The stakes are too high to let partisan games hijack our nuclear security. Join thousands of others in the National Week of Action now through Friday in support of ratifying the New START treaty. Sixty-seven senators must support the New START treaty in order for it to be ratified. With the hearings beginning, now is a crucial time for senators to hear from you.

Call your senators today in support of the treaty. Below is a sample script you can use when you make the call. You’ve got an important message to share, so keep trying if you don’t get through to your senators’ offices right away. When you call the Capitol switchboard, give the operator the name of the senator you want to be connected to. You can find who your senator is on our homepage by entering your address in the “Your Congress” box here.

Capitol switchboard: (202) 224 – 3121

Sample phone script:

Hello, my name is (name of Caller). I am a constituent calling from (city/state).

I want to urge (name of Senator) to support ratification of the New START Treaty reducing Russian and U.S. nuclear weapons. The treaty was signed on April 8 by the US and Russia and is now before the Senate for consideration.

The treaty is a crucial step to reduce the global nuclear threat and make the world safer. The Cold War is long over. Maintaining huge nuclear weapons arsenals today contributes to the risk of an accidental launch or one of those nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands. The New START treaty has broad bipartisan support from many well-respected former government officials and foreign policy experts.

Lastly, I very much would like to know the senator’s current views on the treaty and ask for a written response outlining those views. You can send me a letter at (leave address).

After you’ve made the calls, please leave a comment on this blog post and let me know how your call went and how the senators’ staff responded.

Opponents of nuclear weapons reductions are seeking to use the treaty to extract concessions, such as huge funding increases for the nuclear weapons infrastructure. Stay tuned for another week of action in early June to help cut the bloated nuclear weapons budget.