Senator Markey opposes US nuclear weapons budget
Posted: 17th December 2022
In this update:
* Senator Markey opposes US nuclear weapons budget
Basel Peace Office calls on TPNW members to divest
‘Risky Returns’ reports drop in nuclear weapons investments *
On Thursday (December 15), Senator Ed Markey, Member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, voted against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023 in opposition to it’s allocation of spending on a brand-new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called the Sentinel and a new nuclear-armed submarine launched cruise missile.
In addition, Senator Markey who is also the Senate leader of the Green New Deal, opposed a massive increase in the US military budget while the US fails to adequately address other security priorities such as diplomacy, climate change, the opioid epidemic, poverty, hunger, and disease.
Unfortunately Senator Markey was in a minority on this position. NDAA was adopted with bi-partisan support of 83 votes to 11. For more information see Senator Markey Votes No on Boosting Bloated Military Budget in NDAA.
Army lobbyists & gold-plated contractors versus the American people
“This bill authorizes a whopping $857 billion for defense spending next year, $45 billion more than the President requested and many billions more than Congress has invested in addressing many of the biggest security concerns facing the American people—such as climate change, the opioid epidemic, poverty, hunger, and disease. Instead, it doubles down on the failed approach of pouring money into a bloated, inefficient, and sometimes counterproductive national security machine underwritten by an army of lobbyists and gold-plated contractors that fails to deliver on the needs of the American people. I simply cannot support it.”
Senator Markey, PNND Co-President and Senate leader for the Green New Deal, opposing the National Defense Authorization Act, December 15, 2022
Basel Peace Office calls for TPNW members to divest
Basel Peace Office released a ‘Food-for-Thought’ paper last week which highlights opportunities for Switzerland (where Basel Peace Office is based) and other non-nuclear countries to advance nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament over the next two years.
One of the recommendations in the paper is for Switzerland to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and use this to encourage TPNW members to divest public funds from the nuclear weapons industry.
Switzerland is one of four countries (the others being Liechtenstein, New Zealand and Norway) that have already adopted and implemented nuclear weapons divestment policies. States Parties to the TPNW should follow suit as the treaty prohibits them from assisting in the production of nuclear weapons. Investing in the nuclear weapons industry is a significant form of assistance for such production.
The paper also calls on states parties of the TPNW to prohibit transit of nuclear weapons across their territories, as has been done by New Zealand in the NZ Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987.
A prohibition by TPNW members on financing and transit of nuclear weapons
A prohibition on financing of nuclear weapons by TPNW members would contribute significantly to the global nuclear weapons divestment campaign, undermining the economic and political power of the nuclear weapons industry. A prohibition by TPNW members on nuclear weapons transit would impact directly on the deployment of nuclear weapons by the nuclear weapon states, curtailing their freedom of nuclear weapons movement and elevating public attention to the weapons and where they are deployed.
Basel Peace Office ‘Food-for-Thought’ paper, December 12, 2022
A prohibition on financing of nuclear weapons by TPNW members would contribute significantly to the global nuclear weapons divestment campaign, undermining the economic and political power of the nuclear weapons industry. A prohibition by TPNW members on nuclear weapons transit would impact directly on the deployment of nuclear weapons by the nuclear weapon states, curtailing their freedom of nuclear weapons movement and elevating public attention to the weapons and where they are deployed.
Basel Peace Office ‘Food-for-Thought’ paper, December 12, 2022
‘Risky Returns’ reports drop in nuclear weapons investments
Will producing nuclear weapons be a safe investment opportunity in the long-term? This is one of the key questions coming up in the Don’t Bank on the Bomb report, released last week by PAX and ICAN. The answer can be key to showing investors why it’s time to step out of this risky business.
“Risky Returns” provides an overview of investments in 24 companies heavily involved in the production of nuclear weapons for the arsenals of China, France, India, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. It also exposes the investors financing or profiting from these companies. Overall, the report finds that 306 financial institutions made over $746 billion available to these companies, but that long-term investments (loans and underwriting) dropped by more than $45 billion.