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
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