DISARM Co-Chairs Lobby Against Explosive Nuclear Weapons Testing—Now It’s Your Turn!
Last July, the chairman of the Sierra Club’s Stop Nuclear Weapons team reached out to WILPF US. He wanted to know if one or two WILPF members would join the team to lobby on two key issues: 1) preventing the resumption of explosive nuclear weapons testing, as recommended in Project 2025, and 2) urging senators to finally ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Sierra Club offered to cover airfare, hotel accommodations, and food.
Two DISARM co-chairs agreed to attend: Cherrill flew in from California for three days of meetings with senators on Capitol Hill, while Dianne, who lived near D.C., didn’t need financial assistance and lobbied for just one day.
The Grass Roots Stop Nuclear Weapons Team met with the staff of 22 US senators and two house representatives, delivering more than 80 packets of information to Senate offices.
The main arguments against the resumption of explosive nuclear weapons testing in Nevada, which could lead to a new atomic arms race, were:
- Explosive nuclear testing is unnecessary.
- The American public does not want explosive testing.
- Resumption of explosive testing could prompt other nations to resume their own testing.
A few days after our lobbying efforts, Trump announced via a confusing tweet that he would resume explosive nuclear weapons testing. However, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright later clarified that planned nuclear weapons tests would not involve actual nuclear explosions.
Thanks to the lobbying from the Sierra Club and WILPF US, senators were aware of the problems that Trump’s directive could cause. As a result, fifteen senators (most of whom we had met with) wrote a strong letter to the president demanding he reverse his course on nuclear weapons testing. Please send this letter to your senators to inform them about this issue.
House Representative Dina Titus (NV District 1), who has long been an advocate against nuclear weapons, has introduced a new bill to prevent any resumption of explosive atomic weapons testing. This bill, called the RESTRAIN Act (HR5894), aims to prohibit such tests. We encourage WILPF members to write to their congressional representatives, particularly Republicans, to urge them to co-sponsor this bill. To learn more about explosive testing and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), please watch the Arms Control Association webinar featuring Rep. Titus and other nuclear weapons experts.
Act Now to Prevent War Against Venezuela
In the past two months, Donald Trump has targeted alleged “narcoterrorist” drug boats using US planes, resulting in the deaths of 46 civilians in ten separate airstrikes. Professor David Cole from Georgetown University Law Center described these actions as “cold-blooded murder.”
On Oct. 24, Trump escalated his threats against Venezuela by deploying a massive aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean and indicated his intention to begin land attacks without seeking congressional authorization for the use of force.
The United Nations condemned Trump’s strikes, stating, “International law does not allow governments to simply murder alleged drug traffickers.” Trump has not provided evidence supporting his claims that those killed were drug traffickers; many may have been innocent fishermen caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, with some not even en route to the United States.
Now, Trump intends to extend his actions into Venezuela, stating on Oct. 23, “I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we are going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We are going to kill them, you know? They are going to be, like, dead.”
In response, a new war powers-related concurrent resolution, H.Con.Res 61, was introduced in the House of Representatives on Nov. 17. This resolution directs the president, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove US Armed Forces from hostilities with presidentially designated terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere.
As of Nov. 22, the resolution has 20 co-sponsors. Please write to your representative to request their co-sponsorship of this important bill. Here are some points to emphasize:
- The bill restricts strikes beyond Venezuela unless authorized by a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization for military force (especially relevant after the president mentioned a military strike in Mexico).
- It aims to restore congressional war-making powers and end the administration’s actions of killing without due process (the current toll is 80).
- Your representative must insist that the Speaker of the House comply with the War Powers Resolution by holding a vote, which he has been illegally refusing to do.
Advocate for a New Treaty Before New START Expires
New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, will expire on Feb. 5, 2026. The current agreement limits both countries to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed launchers, along with verification measures to ensure compliance. Without a successor agreement, there will be no legally binding caps on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time in over 50 years, increasing the risk of a costly and dangerous arms race. Arms control agreements help reduce the chance of miscalculation, while verification and transparency measures prevent misunderstandings that could escalate into conflict and support worst-case strategic planning.
A follow-on agreement would maintain inspections and data sharing. Without it, we would lose the ability to “look under the hood” of Russia’s nuclear forces, and vice versa. The Kremlin sent an offer to the White House on Sept. 22 to continue respecting the central limits of New START for an additional year after its expiration. As of Nov. 22, the White House has not responded.
Here is what we need WILPF members to do: Write to your house representative and senators, asking them to demonstrate their commitment to our collective security by co-sponsoring H.Res. 100, S.Res. 61, H.Res. 317, and S.Res. 323. Our future depends on the actions we take today to prevent the horrors of an unrestrained arms race and the potential for nuclear conflict tomorrow.
WILPF US is part of a large ad hoc coalition of over 50 anti-nuclear weapons NGOs making these requests to their members. We need many letters to our representatives, as they count them to help decide their actions. This document includes more information about the campaign, along with talking points for corresponding with your representatives. You can use this sample letter as a starting point, but please revise it before sending it through your representatives’ websites.
Your voice matters! Thank you for taking these actions to prevent an unrestrained arms race.
Please note that there will not be an eNEWS publication in January 2026. Therefore, we encourage you to take action now and continue into the new year. The DISARM/End Wars Committee will email you with details on how to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which will come into effect on Jan. 22, 2026.
Join the DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee
We welcome new members to the DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee! We meet by Zoom on the second and last Sundays of each month at 4:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET. To receive the Zoom link and request to join the DISARM listserv, write to disarmchair@wilpfus.org.
