Members and supporters of the Warheads to Windmills Coalition gathered in Washington DC from July 8-10th to meet with members of Congress about the importance of getting rid of nuclear weapons and addressing the climate crisis.
Approximately 20 people joined the lobbying teams over the course of the three days from organizations such as CodePink, Veterans for Peace, Hampton Roads CAN, NuclearBan.US, Students for Nuclear Disarmament, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and more. Many activists were in DC for the events of the No to NATO summit and rally that occurred the weekend prior. Members of the team traveled from many states including California, Massachusetts, New York, Iowa, and Virginia. Even more advocates were able to join meetings with their representatives via hybrid meetings on zoom.
Advocates spoke with members of congress and their staff about the importance of the US signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, working with the other nuclear armed nations to reach global nuclear disarmament, and converting our currently wasted nuclear weapons resources towards domestic issues such as the climate crisis.
We were able to meet with nearly 30 offices, and we dropped off materials with over 20 more, engaging in many interesting and productive conversations around the abolition of nuclear weapons and reprioritizing climate justice.
We highlighted H.R. 2775 the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and (Climate) Conversion Act, which calls on the US to sign the treaty, pursue global verifiable disarmament, and convert those resources towards climate solutions, as well as other nuclear weapons legislation that supports the Nuclear Ban Treaty, including H.Res 77. In continuing to pursue climate solutions, we spoke to the offices about the upcoming idea for a Fossil Fuel Treaty to phase out the burning of fossil fuels. Teams urged the reps to sign the Fossil Free Future Parliamentarians Pledge, and H.R. 598, the Earth Act to Stop Climate Pollution by 2030.
These lobby days were incredibly productive and we will continue to pursue ongoing conversations with congress in light of these efforts. Stay tuned for updates on our progress in securing cosponsorships!
