– Biden’s Top Line Military & Nuclear Budget Release: What’s in it; What’s Next? (10 min)
President Biden released top line numbers for funding the federal government in fiscal year 2022, which begins on October 1, 2021. Funding for civilian programs gets a boost in the request. However, the Biden “National Defense” budget fails to curtail the excesses of the Trump years. We will discuss what’s in the Pentagon request and in the Department of Energy nuclear weapons budget. The administration promised a full budget request (with the all-important line-item details) later this spring. And, the congressional authorization and appropriations process are just beginning for fiscal 2022. Come and learn how to make your voice heard.
– Legislation Introduced to Constrain Nuclear Weapons and Change U.S. Policy (15 min.)
- Rep. Joe Courtney introduced H.R.1554 to prohibit funding for a nuclear armed-sea launched cruise missile and its associated warhead. Presently it has 12 cosponsors. Sen. Chis Van Hollen introduced S.595 in March 2021 for the same purpose. Presently it has 9 cosponsors.
- Rep. Ro Khanna introduced H.R.2227 to prohibit funding for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent Missile and its W87-1 warhead. Presently it has 13 original cosponsors. Senator Ed Markey introduced S.982 in March 2021 with 3 original cosponsors for the same purpose.
- Today, Rep. Adam Smith is set to introduce legislation to declare, “it is the policy of the U.S. to not use nuclear weapons first “[aka NFU policy]. Senator Elizabeth Warren is poised to offer a companion bill in the Senate. We will discuss these and related bills that have been introduced or are being considered by various members of Congress.
– Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; What’s Next? (10 min)
Early this year the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force and became part of international law. We will discuss next steps – and some upcoming initiatives our members are invited to join, hosted by networks in which we play an active role – Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, the Back from the Brink Campaign, and International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. We will also discuss the TPNW interface with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the NPT’s planned review conference at the UN in NYC this August (to be held if safe).
– Plutonium Pit Production (10 min)
The productions sites chosen to produce 80 or more pits per year are the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico. The plutonium pits to be produced are expressly for a novel warhead that Livermore Lab is developing, called the W87-1. We have news to share about our campaign to prevent expanded pit production. In particular we will discuss the legal implications of President Biden’s “executive order” on Environmental Justice and how we are seeking to enforce it in connection with the agency’s refusal to do needed environmental review before going full-steam ahead with its dangerous plans.
– Planning Outreach Events/Zoom (10 min.)
Tri-Valley CAREs is planning for the following events: 1. A virtual DC Days with the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability scheduled for April 28th through May 15th. 2. A Hiroshima-Nagasaki rally on or around August 6 at Livermore Lab (likely virtual/hybrid), 3. Outreach for the NNSA/Livermore Lab release of its draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (announced for late spring/early summer). We will plan a Zoom on what’s in the draft SWEIS. 4. A Zoom session on the full Biden budget when it’s released; probably May or early June.
Additional Notes:
- Next Tri-Valley CAREs LTE party will be Thursday, May 6th at 5:30 pm. Zoom link will be in your electronic newsletter and also posted at www.trivalleycares.org
- Next monthly meeting will be Thursday, May 20 at 7:30 pm. Zoom link will be in your electronic newsletter and also posted at www.trivalleycares.org
- Our blog on the 2021 Good Friday event, held virtually with some of us speaking from Livermore Lab, is posted. We will be adding links for additional talks and video as we get them at www.trivalleycares.org
