Lawmakers call for cuts to nukes spending

Yesterday, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) was joined by 44 other members of Congress on a letter to leaders in both the House and the Senate insisting that billions of dollars in cuts to nuclear weapons should be on the table. See Rep. Markey’s press release here.

Republicans and Democrats are still discussing options to balance the budget and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, but they are no where close to a deal that both sides will be able to agree on. And current proposals from both sides are conspicuously lacking specifics about making cuts to our enormous and wasteful military and nuclear weapons budgets. In the letter, the lawmakers point out:

The Ploughshares Fund estimates that the U.S. is projected to spend over $640 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next ten years.  At a time when the government must tighten its belt, we cannot continue to spend at these levels.  We can save hundreds of billions of dollars by restructuring the U.S. nuclear program for the 21st century.

The letter points out that several nuclear programs have been criticized for being unnecessary and over-budget. For example, the program to refurbish the B-61 gravity bomb, a bomb no one wants, and which will now cost over $10 billion: literally more than the bomb’s weight in gold. And it insists that the current levels of spending on nuclear weapons is not fiscally responsible.

Unchecked spending on nuclear weapons threatens to push us over the fiscal cliff.  It imperils both our national and economic security.   It makes us less safe by preventing investment in the systems that our soldiers need most.  It jeopardizes our future by forcing cuts to programs that fund life-saving medical research, train teachers, and ensure seniors and the most vulnerable receive essential healthcare.

If your Representative is on this list of signers, call them and thank them for signing onto Rep. Markey’s letter and for speaking out against wasteful nuclear weapons spending. See the signers and the full letter at Rep. Markey’s website.

Signers:
Ed Markey (D-MA)
Timothy H. Bishop (D-NY)
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Bruce Braley (D-IA)
Lois Capps (D-CA)
Donna M.C. Christensen (D-VI)
Hansen Clarke (D-MI)
Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY)
William Lacy Clay (D-MO)
John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR)
Donna Edwards (D-MD)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Sam Farr (D-CA)
Barney Frank (D-MA)
Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ)
Janice Hahn (D-CA)
Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL)
Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
Rush D. Holt (D-NJ)
Michael M. Honda (D-CA)
Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
William Keating (D-MA)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
John Lewis (D-GA)
Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY)
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Jim McDermott (D-WA)
James P. McGovern (D-MA)
James P. Moran (D-VA)
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Richard E. Neal (D-MA)
John W. Olver (D-MA)
Jared Polis (D-CO)
David E. Price (D-NC)
Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
Laura Richardson (D-CA)
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
John F. Tierney (D-MA)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Peter Welch (D-VT)
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
John Yarmuth (D-KY)