In the House of Representatives, Markey co-founded the Congressional Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation

Washington (May 10, 2016) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today after the White House announced President Obama will be the first sitting president to visit Hiroshima, Japan. Senator Markey visited Hiroshima in 1985 on the 40^th anniversary of the atomic bombing, and has been a Congressional leader on nuclear nonproliferation and arms control, leading the nuclear freeze movement and continuing to spearhead efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

“The devastation at Hiroshima will always be a profound reminder that we must do everything we can to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again. Our ultimate goal today, tomorrow and always should be a nuclear weapons-free future.

“I personally witnessed the solemn 1985 commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. I recognize the importance of President Obama’s decision to be the first sitting President to finally visit Hiroshima. His visit provides an historic opportunity to exercise American leadership around the globe by committing to cut our own spending on outdated and unnecessary nuclear weapons that we no longer need to keep us safe.”

Last year, Senator Markey and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced bicameral legislation that would cut $100 billion from the bloated nuclear weapons budget over the next decade. The Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act cuts specific nuclear weapons and related programs without harming national security. The United States spends more money on nuclear weapons than all other countries combined. In the past three years, the budget for simply maintaining nuclear warheads and production facilities has seen a 16 percent increase.

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