Rep. Jim McGovern: Nuclear-Free World is a US National Security Imperative

The Urgent Threat of Nuclear Weapons

• ⚠️ The risk of conflict with nuclear weapons is one of the most serious issues of our time, challenging our conscience and threatening all of humanity and life on our planet.
• 🌍 The world currently holds an estimated 13,400 nuclear weapons, with the United States and Russia possessing about 90%.
• 📈 Tensions are increasing, with Russia threatening nuclear use against Ukraine and NATO, North Korea using its program to intimidate, and China rapidly expanding its arsenal.

Lessons from History and Past Agreements

• ⚛️ The Trinity test (80 years ago) and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki serve as stark reminders of the destructive power of nuclear weapons.
• 🎖️ We must honor atomic veterans and the downwinders and Pacific Islanders who suffered health consequences and displacement due to above-ground and atmospheric nuclear tests.
• 🤝 Diplomacy and negotiations have been the only proven ways to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict, and past arms control agreements have kept arsenals smaller and less dangerous.

The State of Arms Control and Future Opportunities

• 📉 The New START treaty, limiting deployed strategic nuclear warheads, expires in February 2026, with scant signs of extension.
• 🇺🇸 Past Republican presidents like Eisenhower and Reagan supported nuclear arms control, and President Trump has previously expressed skepticism about building new nuclear weapons and the cost involved.
• 🤝 McGovern urges President Trump to make nuclear threat reduction a legacy item by respecting New START limits and engaging with Putin and Xi Jinping on arms control.

Congressional Actions and Counterarguments

• 📜 McGovern is a sponsor of HRES 317, a resolution calling for US leadership in nuclear disarmament negotiations and the pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons.
• ✂️ He criticizes recent congressional actions, including a $412 million cut to the National Nuclear Security Administration's Non-proliferation account and the authorization of $62 billion for the nuclear enterprise, including the costly Sentinel Missile.
• 💡 McGovern highlights the shortsightedness of responding to perceived security problems by building more nuclear weapons, citing experts like J. Robert Oppenheimer and Dr. Richard Garwin who advocated for reduction.

A Call to Action for a Nuclear-Free Future

• 🗣️ The stories of survivors and the images of destruction from Hiroshima and Nagasaki endure, reinforcing the moral imperative to prevent future horrors.
• 🏛️ McGovern calls for increased awareness, congressional hearings, floor debates, and encouragement for scientists and citizens to raise their voices upon returning to Washington.
• 🎯 The ultimate goal is to commit to legislation that contains the growth of nuclear weapons and ultimately leads to their elimination.