Washington, D.C. — October 11, 2017 — In response to reports that President Trump wanted a tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:

“Already, the estimated $1.5 trillion cost of rebuilding U.S. nuclear warheads and their delivery systems is unaffordable and sends a message to the world that the U.S. is ignoring its obligations to disarm under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Given the cost to taxpayers and our nation’s security brought on by the last nuclear arms race, building any new nuclear weapons is a terrible idea. A tenfold increase is simply ludicrous.

“The cost of a tenfold increase would be astronomical and would take funds away from real security needs and other taxpayer priorities like job creation, education and infrastructure. Even the hawkish Congress would reject a ridiculous increase in U.S. nuclear weapons because they know the U.S. can’t afford it, it would make Americans less safe, could cause another nuclear arms race and would inflame tensions with North Korea and other countries.”

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Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest peace and disarmament organization, with over 100,000 paid members and nearly 100 chapters in 36 states, works to abolish nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights and support nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts. The public may learn more and take action at http://www.PeaceAction.org.

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