FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12, 2011
CONTACT: Bridget Nolan , Outreach Coordinator, 202.546.0795, ext. 2113, bnolan@clw.org
Washington, D.C.—Council for a Livable World today hailed an important victory on non-proliferation anti-terrorism funding in the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution.
The House had cut the Obama Administration’s request for Fiscal Year 2011 by a 22%. In the final Continuing Resolution agreed to last Friday and expected to be approved this week, Congress will appropriate $2.3 billion, a 9% increase from last year’s funding level and $241 million above the House level.
“This reversal happened due to strong pressure exerted by key Members of Congress such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Robert Casey (D-PA), the Obama Administration and the advocacy community,� said John Isaacs, Executive Director of Council for a Livable World.
These non-proliferation programs are designed to keep dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. Experts agree that limiting access to vulnerable nuclear weapons-usable materials greatly reduces the threat of nuclear terrorism.
In an effort to draw attention to these draconian cuts, Council for a Livable World launched an advertising campaign targeting six key Republican leaders in the House and Senate for cutting funding for non-proliferation programs under the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA).
Isaacs noted, “We believe an important element of the victory was Council for a Livable World’s advertising campaign that put pressure on these Republican leaders in the House and Senate.�
Isaacs noted that the work must continue to fully fund these important programs as Congress begins to consider the Fiscal Year 2012 budget.
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