Policy Influence and Lobbying
Every election cycle, the Council endorses congressional candidates who are arms control advocates and who support the Council's outlook on national security issues. Since its inception, the Council has helped elect 120 U.S. arms control advocates to the Senate and 203 to the House of Representatives. Council supporters raised over $1.3 million in 2010. Candidates seeking endorsements are required to answer questionnaires on issues and to defend their positions in interviews. The Council endorses candidates for the House of Representatives through PeacePAC. The Council endorsed both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in their first runs for U.S. Senate seats.
The Council has influenced U.S. arms control and national security policies for almost fifty years by working on or supporting several issues including:
- Ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Conventional Forces in Europe, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
- Establishing a U.S. nuclear testing moratorium in 1992
- Banning biological weapons and terminating chemical weapons programs
- Limiting the deployment of the MX missile and B-2 bomber
- Blocking deployment of National Missile Defense by the Clinton administration
- Eliminating funding for the nuclear "Bunker Buster" and "Reliable Replacement Warhead," two new generations of nuclear weapons
Read more about this topic: Council For A Livable World
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