64 members of Congress sign letter to Super Committee calling for cuts to nuclear budget before slashing bedrock programs for seniors, families and most vulnerable
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Currently, America is the financial caretaker for 5,000 nuclear warheads. The U.S. will spend an estimated $700 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next ten years. These funds are a drain on our budget and a disservice to the next generation of Americans.
 
TODAY, Lt. General Robert G. Gard, one of the nation's leading experts on nuclear nonproliferation and national security issues, along with leading health, seniors and nuclear nonproliferation advocates will join Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), to call on the congressional Super Committee to cut hundreds of billions from the U.S. nuclear weapons budget before targeting programs for seniors, families and the sick.
 
"We can save hundreds of billions of dollars by restructuring the U.S. nuclear program for the 21st century," said Rep. Markey. "We can no longer afford to rob the future to pay for unneeded weapons of the past. Now is the time to reset our priorities and invest in the people and programs to get America back on track."
 
WHAT: Press conference calling on Super Committee to make cuts from the U.S. nuclear weapons budget over the next decade
 
WHO: Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee and senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee
 
-   Lt. General Robert G. Gard Jr. (USA, ret.), Chairman and Senior Fellow, The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
-   Joe Cirincione, President, Ploughshares Fund
-   Ron Pollack, Executive Director, Families USA
 
WHEN: TODAY, Tuesday, October 11, 2011, noon
 
WHERE: 2322 Rayburn House Office Building, U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC