Supporting the “Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017”
If you’re worried about Donald Trump having the ability to start a nuclear war, here’s something you can do about it right now.
Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA-33) and Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) have introduced a bill that would prevent the President from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress. They originally introduced it last September, and it produced little interest at the time, though two Representatives, James McGovern (D-MA-2) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-3) came on as co-sponsors just after the November election. When Lieu and Markey reintroduced the bill this January, another 10 Representatives (12 total) came on as co-sponsors; currently no other Senator has co-sponsored the Senate version.
So! You can call your Senators and your Representative and ask them to co-sponsor the bill (or thank them if they have). Here’s how.
- Find your Congressional representatives! You have them on speed-dial, right?
- Find out if they’ve co-sponsored the bill yet. Here are the cosponsors for HR669 (House version) and S200 (Senate version).
- Use this script, written by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Hello, my name is XXXXXX. I am calling to encourage Representative YYYYYYY to co-sponsor H.R. 669, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017, introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu. The legislation would prohibit the President of the United States from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress. I believe that this is a basic issue of Constitutional checks and balances on Executive powers.
SENATE
Hello, my name is XXXXXX. I am calling to encourage Senator YYYYYYY to co-sponsor S. 200, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017, introduced by Sen. Edward Markey. The legislation would prohibit the President of the United States from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress. I believe that this is a basic issue of Constitutional checks and balances on Executive powers.
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation asks that you let them know how your calls go by filling out this form. If your Congressperson has already co-sponsored (as mine has — go Barbara Lee!), call and thank them for doing so to give support for further action on the topic.
I’m not at all sure this bill goes far enough or has the right idea. Alex Wellerstein argues it does not:
I don’t think that’s necessarily the right approach (Congress has not issued a declaration of war since World War II, so this is effectively just a prohibition on first-strike capability, which will lead the military, defense establishment, and most security scholars I know to definitively oppose the idea), but I hope that this might serve as a place to revisit and discuss these issues formally in a legislative setting.
Even if this idea is wrong, it is the best political focal point available on this topic today and may spur better ideas. Also, the New York Times’ editorial board called attention to the bill just yesterday, so this is a good time to get in touch and raise awareness of the issue with your Congressional representatives.
Let me know if you do call your elected officials about this; I’d love to hear how it goes.
