Fw: Another Victory, Another Chance to Cut Funds for New Nukes

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie" <kathyguthrie@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2005 4:51 PM
Subject: FCNL: Another Victory, Another Chance to Cut Funds for New Nukes

Your emails and phone calls to the House of Representatives made a
difference. Last week, two committees in the House of Representatives
blocked the administration's plans for the nuclear "bunker
buster." While this is good news, we now need the Senate to follow
suit.

The Senate has still not made up its mind on whether to ditch the Bush
administration's plans to research a new nuclear bomb called the
nuclear "bunker buster." This weapon, if ever used, could
lead to a million casualties according to a recent study by the
National Research Council,
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/LSNFESANAI/DBQZESANFW/ It is a new weapon
of mass destruction.

Despite the impracticality of this weapon, the Senate may decide as
early as next week whether to restart funding for research into such a
bomb. The Senate will consider legislation that includes millions of
dollars in funding for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or bunker
buster bomb. That legislation could reach the Senate floor as early as
next week.

With the remarkable wins in the House, now we need to mobilize again to
get the Senate to slam the door on new nuclear weapons--for good!

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Please contact your Senators today! Urge them to eliminate funds for
the bunker buster. Tell them that new nuclear weapons will not make the
world more secure. Developing new nuclear weapons sends a message to
the rest of the world that nuclear weapons are necessary and usable.
This undermines U.S. security.

Contacting your Senators is easy. You can email or fax your Senator for
free by going to http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/LSNFESANAI/BHILESANFX/
Once there you will also find talking points to help you write your
letter. It is best to write your message in your own words since
congressional staff often ignore "form letters."

Because this issue is so urgent, please forward this FCNL action
message on to family and friends.

Background: The Bush administration has renewed its effort to develop a
"bunker busting" nuclear bomb that would penetrate the ground
before exploding in order to destroy underground targets. This bomb
would be 70 times more powerful than the bomb that was dropped on
Hiroshima. And its explosion would not be contained underground.

The Bush administration is asking for $4 million in the Energy
Department budget to develop this new nuclear bomb, also known as the
"Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator." The administration is also
asking for $4.5 million in the Air Force budget for non-nuclear tests
that would evaluate the bunker buster's ability to penetrate into the
earth before exploding.

While the amount requested is small relative to the overall military
budget, spending any funds on the bunker buster keeps alive a program
that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars once it moves from
research to acquisition. In addition to the cost to the taxpayer, the
program undermines U.S. efforts to convince other countries not to
develop nuclear weapons.

Last year, Congress zeroed out all funding for the nuclear bunker
buster. We need your help again to make sure your victory is not
reversed.

_______________________________________

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________________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795
fcnl@fcnl.org * www.fcnl.org
phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
We seek a society with equity and justice for all
We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored.
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