Representative Edward J. Markey
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
December 8, 2011
Dear Rep. Markey,
On behalf of our 47 organizations and the members that we represent, we would like to express our gratitude to you for your principled call for reducing the amount of money that our country spends on nuclear weapons and related programs.
In the letter that you signed on October 11 to the Supercommittee members about this issue, you expressed a view that—based on moral, security and fiscal grounds—our country can no longer justify current levels of spending on nuclear weapons programs. We endorse that position.
As you noted in the letter, the hundreds of billions of dollars that our country is slated to spend on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next decade will damage our country's economic vitality and national security. We should be spending less on nuclear weapons systems designed to fight the Cold War. Your vision for constraining outmoded programs, as expressed in the letter, is a bold step in that direction.
We applaud you for your leadership on this issue, and we strongly urge you to continue to seek cuts to our country's bloated nuclear arsenal in the months ahead. You have our sincerest support.
Sincerely,
Susan Gordon, Director
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
Carol Blythe, President
Alliance of Baptists
R. Aura Kanegis, Director, Office of Public Policy and Advocacy
American Friends Service Committee
Eric Sapp, Executive Director
American Values Network
Michael J. Wilson, National Director
Americans for Democratic Action
Karen Showalter, Executive Director
Americans for Informed Democracy
Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director
Arms Control Association
Ambassador Robert Grey, Director
Bipartisan Security Group
William D. Hartung, Director, Arms and Security Initiative
Center for International Policy
Jordan Blevins, Advocacy Officer
Church of the Brethren
Michelle Melcher Knight, MSW, Advocacy Associate
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Joni Arends, Executive Director
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Santa Fe, NM
T. Michael McNulty, SJ, Justice and Peace Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
John Isaacs, Executive Director
Council for a Livable World
Charles D. Ferguson, President
Federation of American Scientists
Marie Lucey, OSF, Director of Advocacy
Franciscan Action Network
David Culp, Legislative Representative
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)
Bobbie Paul, Executive Director
Georgia Women's Action for New Directions
Dr. Paul F. Walker, Director, Security and Sustainability
Global Green USA
Jonathan Granoff, President
Global Security Institute
Stephen I. Schwartz, Editor, The Nonproliferation Review
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Marie Dennis, Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach, Director
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Jordan Blevins, Ecumenical Peace Coordinator
National Council of Churches of Christ, USA
Christopher Paine, Nuclear Program Director
Natural Resources Defense Council
Marge Clark, BVM, Lobbyist
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
David Krieger, President
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Jay Coghlan, Executive Director
Nuclear Watch New Mexico
Glenn Carroll, Coordinator
Nuclear Watch South
Ralph Hutchison, Coordinator
Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Oak Ridge, TN
Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN, Executive Director
Pax Christi USA
Kevin Martin, Executive Director
Peace Action
Alicia Godsberg, Executive Director
Peace Action New York State
Jon Rainwater, Executive Director
Peace Action West
Jerry Stein, President
Peace Farm, Amarillo, TX
Peter Wilk, MD, Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Catherine Gordon, Associate for International Issues
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Office of Public Witness
Judith Mohling, Coordinator
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Boulder, CO
Jean Stokan, Director, Institute Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Liz Woodruff, Executive Director
Snake River Alliance, Boise, ID
Duane Shank, Senior Policy Advisor
Sojourners
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director
Tri-Valley CAREs, Livermore, CA
Rev. Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, Director
Two Futures Project
Rev. Craig C. Roshaven, Witness Ministries Director
Unitarian Universalist Association
Michael Neuroth, Policy Advocate on International Issues
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
James E. Winkler, General Secretary
United Methodist General Board of Church and Society
Kathy Crandall Robinson, Public Policy Director
Women’s Action for New Directions