United Nations Association Greater Seattle Chapter

Call or Write in Support of the New Nuclear Arms Treaty

In October 2007, during his Presidential campaign, Senator Barack Obama called for the elimination of all nuclear arms. The President laid out his plan to make nuclear arms obsolete when he addressed the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2009. On April 8, 2010, President Obama and Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev signed a New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, a small but significant step toward eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide. The treaty promises modest reductions in strategic weapons, accompanied by verification and transparency measures made necessary by the expiration of the original START last December. On May 13 the President submitted the treaty to the Senate which must ratify it with a two-thirds majority. And on May 18 the Senate Foreign Relation Committee held its first hearing on the treaty.

Action to take: Call or email Washington’s Senators Murray and Cantwell and urge them to work for a favorable Senate vote on the New START Treaty.

Sen. Patty Murray: 202-224-2621; http://www.murray.senate.gov
Sen. Maria Cantwell: 202-224-3441; http://www.cantwell.senate.gov

Background information:

• Obama to Urge Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, New York Times
• Remarks by the President to the United Nations General Assembly, The White House, Washington
• Statement by the Press Secretary on the Submission of the New START Treaty to the Senate, The White House, Washington
• Obama Limits When U.S. Would Use Nuclear Arms, New York Times

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