Church
of the Brethren Ÿ Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Disciples
Center for Public Witness Ÿ Disciples
Justice Action Network
Disciples
Peace Fellowship Ÿ Episcopal
Church
Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America Ÿ Franciscan Action Network
Friends
Committee on National Legislation Ÿ Islamic Society of North
America
Leadership Conference of
Women Religious Ÿ Maryknoll Office for
Global Concerns
Mennonite Central
Committee, U.S. Washington Office
National Council of
Churches Ÿ NETWORK, A National
Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Office of Social Justice
of the Christian Reformed Church Ÿ Pax Christ USA
Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) Ÿ Sisters of Mercy of the
Americas
United Church of Christ,
Justice and Witness Ministries
United
Methodist Church, General Board of Church & Society
Unitarian
Universalist Association
June 10, 2013
The Honorable Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, Chairman
The Honorable Marcy Kaptur, Ranking Member
Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
U.S. House of Representatives
2362-B Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Oppose funding
for the B61 nuclear bomb
Dear Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Kaptur:
As faith and religious leaders from across the United
States, we are writing to express our concern and to urge you to oppose funding for the B61 nuclear bomb
refurbishment in the fiscal year 2014 budget.
The existence, proliferation and possible use of nuclear
weapons threaten all of God’s creation. We are called by our faith to oppose nuclear
weapons and urge Congress to end funding for these weapons. We see the elimination
of the B61 nuclear bomb as the beginning of the elimination of all these
weapons from our planet.
Currently, the United States stores about 200 B61 nuclear
bombs at six bases in NATO nations: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and
Turkey. Another 200 are stored in the United States.
It is generally acknowledged that the B61 nuclear bomb does
not enhance the security of the United States or NATO but instead serves as
little more than a political symbol of the U.S. nuclear commitment to NATO allies.[1]
Completing the life
extension program will likely cost more than $10 billion for all 400
nuclear bombs, or about $25 million per bomb.
In these times of fiscal constraints, when funding for
social programs and services that promote human security by helping feed and
house the disenfranchised and the needy are being reduced, it is morally unjustifiable
to spend billions of dollars on nuclear weapons systems that we do not need.
As members of the House Energy and Water Appropriations
Subcommittee, you are in an important position to prevent these billions of
dollars from being directed to these weapons systems. Now, more so than ever, is the time for the United States government to
re-evaluate how its spending reflects its priorities, and we urge you to reject
funding for the B61 nuclear bomb.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Carol Blythe, President
Alliance of Baptists
Shan Cretin, General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee
Nathan Hosler, Coordinator, Office of Public Witness
Church of the Brethren
Eli
S. McCarthy, PhD, Justice and Peace Director
Conference
of Major Superiors of Men
Rev.
Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, Executive Director
Disciples Center for Public Witness
Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr., President
Disciples Justice Action Network
Rev. Dr. Craig Watts, Chair
Disciples Peace Fellowship
Alexander D. Baumgarten, Director of Government Relations
Episcopal Church
Mary Minette, Interim Director for Advocacy
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Patrick
Carolan, Executive Director
Franciscan
Action Network
Diane Randall, Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director
Islamic Society of North America
Ann Scholz, SSND, Associate Director for Social Mission
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Kathy McNeely, Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach, Director
Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. Washington Office
Cassandra Carmichael, Director, Washington Office
National Council of Churches
Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Peter Vander Meulen, Director
Office of Social Justice of the Christian Reformed Church
Sr. Patricia Chappell, Executive Director
Pax Christ USA
Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, Director, Washington Office
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Jean Stokan, Director, Institute Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sandy Sorensen, Director, Washington Office
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Jim Winkler, General Secretary
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church &
Society
Taquiena Boston, Director, Multicultural Growth &
Witness
Unitarian Universalist Association
[1]
Jeffrey Lewis, “A Steal at $10 Billion,” Foreign Policy, September 5, 2012, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/05/a_steal_at_10_billion?page=full
