Four of your Tri-Valley CAREs friends will be in Washington, DC from May 19-22 for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability’s 2024 DC Days. This event will bring roughly 60 activists from front-line communities around the country to Washington, DC to speak truth to power to Congress and the Administration about the impacts of nuclear weapons on our communities. We will join together for training and an issue update followed by three days of meetings with members of Congress and agency officials. More than 50 meetings will be conducted and your Tri-Valley CAREs team will be at a good many of those. Below are 3 ways you can participate and support us from home!
1) ADD YOUR VOICE – HERE’S HOW…
Call or email your members of Congress while we are at DC Days. Our meetings will be happening from Monday, May 20th through Wednesday, May 22nd. (If you cannot call during those dates, please call as close to them as possible.)
You can use the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If you want to look up your member of Congress click here. You can also email them directly from their website if you prefer.
Tell your Senators and Representative that your friends in Tri-Valley CAREs and the national Alliance for Nuclear Accountability are conducting meetings this week and you want to add your voice on nuclear policy. Always mention that you are a constituent, and it’s common to do so by giving your Zip Code along with your name at the beginning of the call. As a constituent, your message will be elevated.
PRIORITY ASKS & TALKING POINTS FROM OUR DC DAYS REPORT
Scott Yundt, our Executive Director, and Marylia Kelley, our Senior Advisor, contributed to this year’s DC Days report to Congress, Nuclear Abolition, an idea whose time has come, which contains major recommendations to reorient our country’s nuclear weapons and waste policies. The report will be provided to everyone we meet with. Here are some talking points from the report to choose from when making your call or email…
Stop New Nuclear Warheads: Please oppose any funding for the new nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile. Livermore Lab is designing the new warhead for this weapon system. Funding for a new Sea-Launched Cruise Missile was NOT requested by the Biden Administration’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget. Congress should not fund it!
Support Rule of Law and Nuclear Disarmament: Please support House Resolution 77, which supports the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and other common sense measures to truly address long-term U.S. and global safety and security (or thank them if they are a cosponsor).
Stop New Bomb Plants: Please oppose new and expanded plutonium bomb core (pit) production. Congress should cut funding for the budget line called “Plutonium Modernization.”
Cleanup Don’t Build Up: The cost of cleanup for nuclear wastes already in our environment due to nuclear weapons programs exceeds $847 billion. Lifecycle cleanup costs are growing faster than the annual budget. Congress must appropriate more annual funding to cleanup of our nuclear weapons legacy rather than prioritizing new nuclear weapon development.
Here are some additional tips for making your advocacy effective:
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- Choose a single ask from above and stick with that one topic. If you see more than one ask on the list that you would like to make, call back the next day.
- The staff person you talk to will be writing up your comments – so clarity and brevity are key.
- If you have a personal connection to the topic, consider how to share that in a single short sentence.
- Always mention that you want to be informed of any action your legislator takes on the request that is the subject of your call.
- If calling, always be courteous and thank the staff person at the end of the call. Smile and have fun. Democracy is not a spectator sport, true, but participation in it can be fun! Your voice matters!
- Here is a bonus suggestion for those who have done these calls/emails before: Ask to speak (or have the email forwarded) to the Defense Aide or another available staff person who handles this portfolio.
2) CELEBRATE WITH US!
JOIN THE ANA AWARD RECEPTION VIRTUALLY, TUESDAY, MAY 21st 4PM
Another exciting part of DC Days is the ANA Awards Reception. Membership groups nominate groups and individuals who have made special impacts in the area of nuclear safety and disarmament in the last year, and during their lives. This year the event takes place on Tuesday, May 21 at 4pm PT. The awardees include: Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico (via Zoom); the Marshallese Educational Initiative of Springdale, Arkansas (in-person and via Zoom); Parents Against Santa Susana Field Laboratory of Ventura County/Los Angeles, California , recipients of the Bill Mitchell Grassroots Activists of the Year Award; Dr. Edwin Lyman, Director, Nuclear Power Safety, Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC; and Wally Taylor, environmental attorney, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, recipient of the Dr. Judith H. Johnsrud “Unsung Hero” Award.
The awards reception can be viewed online via the following ZOOM Link: https://virginia.zoom.us/j/95043951097?pwd=TFBXSGJRUXFYNVdnMEo0aUNlLzFldz09
We hope you can join us for this event from the comfort of home!
3) SUPPORT OUR WORK IN DC WITH A DONATION!
Sending our team to Washington DC to participate in the ANA DC Days is an incredibly efficient way for us to conduct the maximum amount of advocacy on our mission in a short amount of time. However, it is still an expensive trip. We are only able to send our 4 person team with support from people like you. To read more about donating click here. Or you can just click the donate button here or at the link in our menu above!
