Last week, on the last day in Congress before beginning its August recess early, Representative Jim McGovern (Massachusetts) hosted a Special Order Hour on the house floor about the dangers of nuclear weapons. Speakers covered the increasing risks of nuclear escalation, the need for the United States to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the urgency of disarmament and nonproliferation diplomacy, and the pursuit of nuclear justice.
The Special Order can be viewed wholly here, the full congressional record can be found here, or read on for highlights from the speeches.
Rep. McGovern opened the hour to address “one of the most serious issues of our time, the risk of conflict with nuclear weapons.”
He went on to place the Special Order Hour in the context of the 80th anniversary of the first detonation of nuclear weapons on July 16th, and the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which will occur next week. McGovern set the scene of the increasing threat from nuclear weapons in the current global military landscape.
He called on the President to commit to his earlier statements on denuclearizing, saying President Trump “has the opportunity to make nuclear threat reduction part of his legacy.” He called out the massive budget increases for nuclear weapons programs in the NDAA, and he closed his introduction with a plea on the moral imperative to “commit ourselves to the elimination of nuclear weapons.”
Five other representatives joined him on the floor:
Rep. Foster (Illinois) spoke on the fragility of the current nonproliferation and arms control landscape, the wasted money on programs like the Golden Dome, the upcoming expiration of the NewSTART treaty, and the abandonment of the Iran Nuclear Deal. He warned of the extreme dangers of the calls for resumption of testing.
Rep. Tokuda (Hawaii) spoke of the 318 nuclear detonations in the Pacific Islands, including those by the United States in the Marshall Islands “whose lands became sacrifice zones in the name of power,” and whose people face “ongoing, long-term impacts for human health, including increased rates of birth defects, genetic disorders, and secondary cancers.” To avoid repeating our mistakes, she urged an end to this expensive new arms race.
Rep. Omar (Minnesota) joined the hour to “call on the United States to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and for all of the world’s nuclear armed powers to adopt policies of mutual disarmament and abolition.” She affirmed that this is not a pipe dream, it is possible: “We only need the political will, and we need the urgency.” Like other speakers, she also spoke to remember the legacy of nuclear testing in the United States. “Nuclear weapons have been used thousands of times, and their primary targets have been Americans… entire communities have been poisoned by these weapons right here in the United States. Entire generations have seen their families, their friends, and their classmates die of rare cancers caused by radiation exposure. They have been forced to drink poisoned water and breathe poisoned air.” She called for nuclear justice for these communities.
Rep. Tlaib (Michigan) echoed concerns about the dangers of nuclear war, urging bipartisan commonsense support for our mutual interest in survival by eliminating the threat of nuclear war. She urged support for diplomacy and the TPNW.
Rep. McGovern agreed with his colleagues’ calls for disarmament and diplomacy, emphasizing the TPNW, which has 73 States Parties (ratifying nations) so far, but not yet including any nuclear armed nations. “We won’t get there overnight, but we should not abandon the goal.”
Rep. Takano (California) joined the Special Order with a personal story of his second cousin, Kikue Takagi, who is a Hibakusha from Hiroshima. He spoke of his time visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and hearing her story. He said, “Every world leader who has some control over a nuclear arsenal should make a commitment to visit Hiroshima” and Nagasaki to understand the horrors that were committed there. “Let us honor the lives lost not only with remembrance but with responsibility. Let’s choose diplomacy over destruction, prevention over provocation, and peace over peril.”
Take this opportunity to write to your reps about these issues. Urge them to cosponsor the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Conversion Act, H.R. 1888, which directs the US to join the TPNW, pursue global disarmament, and redirect those wasted resources to our domestic needs. If your Representative participated in this Special Order, be sure to thank them for their words!