The Olympia Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has been supporting the “Back from the Brink” campaign (www.preventnuclearwar.org), which urges 5 smart changes in U.S. policy to reduce the likelihood of nuclear war.
“Back from the Brink” recently sent an ACTION ALERT urging us to urge Congress to support H.Res.77, which supports the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Please sign this message: https://preventnuclearwar.org/hres77/
HERE IS MOE INFORMATION from “Back from the Brink,” including “talking points” so you can write a letter to your newspaper’s editor – and including more opportunities:
Last Friday marked the one year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine coming just days after Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START Treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms agreement between the United States and Russia.
With this in mind, we are writing to thank you for signing your organization onto the letter being organized by Back from the Brink in support of H. Res. 77 and to give you an update and share our plans for releasing the letter and building support for the legislation — and our suggestions for how your organization can further support this critical effort.
As a reminder, H. Res. 77 was introduced on January 31 by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and calls on the United States to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to take concrete steps to prevent nuclear war. Importantly, the legislation also calls on the United States to actively pursue and conclude negotiations with Russia on a new bilateral nuclear arms control and disarmament framework by 2026 before New START expires.
This work and legislation could not be more urgent or timely.
We are pleased to report that 150 organizations — large and small — have already signed the letter. We are continuing to gather additional support and signatures until this coming Friday, March 3rd and plan to send it to all House offices the following week when the House is back in session.
Sending the letter to Capitol Hill will serve to publicly kick off our campaign in support of H. Res.77 and will complement a “Dear Colleague” letter that Rep. McGovern and Blumenauer’s offices are expected to send to all House offices in the near future.
That same week of March 6th, we hope your organization will participate in a “Week of Action” supporting H. Res 77. The goal is to generate a large number of constituent calls and emails from across the country to House members, secure co-sponsorships and bring much needed attention to the resolution. Here’s how you can participate:
If you’re a national or local organization
- Please consider sending an “action alert” email to your supporter networks that includes a link to BftB’s action alert (or draft and send your own action alert)
- Encourage your supporters to write and submit letters to the editor (LTE’s) to their community newspapers bringing attention to the issue and to the importance of H. Res. 77 as a vehicle for building congressional leadership for nuclear disarmament. Here are some LTE talking points.
- Post messages about H. Res. 77 and the need for congressional leadership on nuclear disarmament and dialogue with Russia on your social media channels. (Note: Local organizations should tag their House members. Here’s where you can find their Twitter handle). Here are some sample posts.
If you’re a local organization
- Request an “in-district” meeting with your House member(s) to discuss H. Res. 77. Please let us know your plans in advance by emailing jeremy@preventnuclearwar.org so we can keep track of these requests and offer assistance to you.
- Call your U.S. House Representative’s Washington, DC office and ask to speak directly to the staff person who handles nuclear weapons/foreign policy issues for them. Here’s a script and talking points. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to get connected to their office.
Can’t take these actions the week of March 6th? Not to worry. Building support and cosponsorship of H. Res 77 will be a major focus of our campaign for the next few months and we encourage you to keep in touch with us or help promote the resolution and build for it whenever and however you are able. We’ll plan to periodically update groups about the status of the legislation and offer additional ways to support it.
If you have any questions or suggestions or want to learn more about how to get involved with Back from the Brink please reach out to Jeremy Love at jeremy@preventnuclearwar.org.
Sincerely,
Back from the Brink organizers
