Nuclear weapons campaign update: send your message to the DOE!
As you saw in last week’s post, we know we have about $40 million we need to cut from the budget for the Reliable Replacement Warhead and assorted funds throughout the budget for Complex Transformation, the Department of Energy’s plan to revamp the nuclear weapons complex. Because we are on such a strong footing from our victories on these programs last year, we have an opportunity to build on our momentum to cut these funds again and start talking about more proactive steps to eliminate nuclear weapons.
One of the first critical steps is turning out our supporters to the Department of Energy’s public hearings starting next week. Our staff will be making hundreds of calls to make sure the hearings in Nevada and California are flooded with citizens who oppose Complex Transformation. This is also a great opportunity to make sure that local media covering the story see that the people who oppose this program far outnumber its supporters. Media coverage of citizens going above and beyond to express their views about a controversial topic often ends up on the desks of congressional staff who want to get the pulse of their district. Check back soon for tips and talking points for making your comments.
If you don’t live close enough to one of the hearing sites, you still have the opportunity to get your message to the DOE. Between our online efforts and our field canvass, we have already generated more than 1,300 comments calling for disarmament instead of new nuclear weapons. This will be combined with the work of our national network of allies to top the 33,000 comments that were sent in 2006. Click here to send a message to the DOE opposing Complex Transformation.
Because members of Congress will decide how much funding these programs receive, we are also ramping up our efforts to target key members of Congress such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairwoman Ellen Tauscher. Our field canvass will be spending several weeks in Rep. Tauscher’s district mobilizing her constituents and gathering petition signatures urging Rep. Tauscher to oppose new nuclear weapons development. Between the outreach of our field canvass and the work our campaign organizer Jahsiah Ault is doing with volunteers, we are close to breaking the 1,000 signature mark, part of our overall goal of delivering 10,000 petition signatures to Rep. Tauscher’s office in 2008. This is just the beginning of an effort to link in with other groups and pressure key members of Congress across the country.
If you live in Rep. Tauscher’s district, click here to sign the petition.
If you are interested in volunteering to help us gather signatures, contact Jahsiah Ault at 510-849-2272 x140 or jault [at] peaceactionwest.org.
