October 3, 2018
The Honorable Paul Ryan
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington DC 20515
Dear Representative Ryan,
We call on you to cosponsor H.R.6840, the Hold the LYNE—or Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive—Act, which would prohibit funding for the Trump administration’s proposed “low- yield” warhead. This new weapon is unnecessary and would increase the risk of miscalculation and wider nuclear use.
The Hold the LYNE Act was introduced by Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). A companion bill was introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA).
A substantial portion of the House has—sensibly—already voted to oppose the low-yield warhead. On the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act, 188 House members supported an amendment by Rep. Blumenauer and Rep. Garamendi to withhold 50% of the funding for the program until Secretary of Defense Mattis submits a report assessing the program’s impacts on strategic stability and options to reduce the risk of miscalculation. More pointedly, 177 House members supported an amendment by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) that would have eliminated all funding for the weapon from the FY2019 Energy & Water Development Appropriations Act.
By cosponsoring this bill, you will demonstrate that you oppose the development and deployment of this dangerous and unneeded weapon, and will fight to stop it from going ahead. You will be heeding the advice of former Secretary of Defense Bill Perry, former Secretary of
State George Shultz, former Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James Cartwright, and more than 30 other former senior officials who wrote to Congress to oppose the low-yield warhead:
These so-called “low-yield” weapons are a gateway to nuclear catastrophe and should not be pursued. . .
The proposed “low-yield” Trident warhead is dangerous, unjustified, and redundant. Congress has the power to stop the administration from starting down this slippery slope to nuclear war. We call on Congress to exercise that authority without delay.
Please cosponsor H.R.6840, the Hold the LYNE Act, to stop this dangerous new weapon.
Sincerely,
Martha Dina Argüello, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Joni Arends, Executive Director, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Beatrice Brailsford, Nuclear Program Director, Snake River Alliance
Glen Carroll, Coordinator, Nuclear Watch South
Jay Coghlan, Executive Director, Nuclear Watch New Mexico
Vina Colley, President, Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security
Tom Z. Collina, Director of Policy, Ploughshares Fund
Karen A D’Andrea, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility Maine Chapter
Bonnie Graham-Reed, Founder, Rocky Flats Right to Know
Lisbeth Gronlund, Senior Scientist & Co-Director, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
Odile Hugonot Haber, Chair, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Middle East Committee
Don Hancock, Nuclear Waste Safety Program Director Southwest Research and Information Center
Mary Hanson Harrison, President, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. Section
Ralph Huchison, Coordinator, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
Derek Johnson, Executive Director, Global Zero
Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Specialist, Beyond Nuclear
Marylia Kelly, Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs
Daryl Kimball, Executive Director, Arms Control Association
Hans Kristensen, Director, Nuclear Information Project, Federation of American Scientists
Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director, Policy and Political Affairs, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze)
Stephen Miles, Director, Win Without War
Judith Mohling, Coordinator, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Nancy Parrish, Executive Director, Women’s Action for New Directions
Pamela Richard, Manager, Peace Action Wisconsin
Laura Skelton, Executive Director, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility
Jerry Stein, Convener, The Peace Farm
Ann Suellentrop, M.S.R.N., Project Manager, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Kansas City
Ellen Thomas, Chair, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Disarm-End Wars Committee
Cecili Thompson Williams, Director, Beyond the Bomb
John Tierney, Executive Director, Council for a Livable World, Former member, U.S. House of Representatives
Barbara Ulmer, Co-Director, Our Developing World
Bobby Vaughn Jr., Journalist, A Call to Actions
Rick Wayman, Deputy Director, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Anthony Wier, Legislative Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Jon Wolfsthal, Director, Nuclear Crisis Group, Former Senior Director on the National Security Council