Council for a Livable World is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to reducing the danger of nuclear weapons and increasing national security. Its mission is to advocate for progressive national security policies and help elect congressional candidates who support then. [1] The Council was founded in 1962 by eminent nuclear physicist Leo Szilard and other scientists who worked in the pioneer days of atomic weapons. Its sister organization, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, provides detailed research to members of Congress and their staffs in order to give them the tools to make informed policy decisions on arms control and national security. Both organizations believe that the United States cannot effectively address the security challenges of the 21st century through Cold War era alarmist policies and seek out non-military solutions to international conflicts. Since 2008 the Council has tracked arms control and election developments on its blog, The Chain Reaction[1].
The Center's executive director, John Isaacs, for decades has been a leader of arms control advocacy and research in Washington, D.C. and served as a foreign service officer in Vietnam.
Methods
The Council uses many tools to monitor and influence arms control legislation in the U.S. Congress:
- Elections - Through the Council for a Livable World Candidate fund, the Council endorses and fundraises for progressive Congressional candidates across the U.S. More than 40,000 Council supporters provide more funds to opponents of the arms race than any other arms control organization in America: more than $1 million in 2008. Since its founding, the Council has helped elect 118 U.S. arms control candidates to the Senate and 199 candidates to the House of Representatives.
- Legislation - The Council helps initiate and draft national security legislation, monitors appropriate committees, arranges for expert witnesses for important hearings, and keeps accurate head counts before votes are taken.
- Lobbying - Council national security experts work to shape pending legislation in Congress and the Administration by working with key officials and by mobilizing their 40,000 member grassroots network across the United States to contact their representatives.
- Seminars - Council board members and other knowledgeable authorities outside of government provide valuable technical, scientific, and tactical information to Members of Congress and their staffs.
- Public Information - To inform the public, political figures, and news media, the Council maintains staff experts on weapons of mass destruction, nuclear nonproliferation and other national security issues; monitors votes and distributes voting records of senators and representatives on national security issues; tracks elections, candidates, and policy issues on its website; and sends election and action alerts to its 40,000 member grassroots network.
- Joint Actions - The Council works closely with other arms control and national security groups to track major legislation, build coalitions to work with Congress, and keep the public informed about key national security issues.
Policy Influence
Along with its sister organization, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the Council has influenced U.S. arms control and national security policies for almost fifty years, including:
- Ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Conventional Forces in Europe, and Strategic Arms Reduction (START) treaty
- 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
The Council for a Livable World Candidate Fund
Every election cycle, the Council endorses congressional candidates, either incumbents or challengers, who are -- or show promise to be -- arms control advocates and who support the Council's outlook on national security issues. Since its inception, the Council has helped elect 118 U.S. arms control candidates to the Senate and 199 candidates to the House of Representatives. Council supporters, now over 40,000 strong, provide more funds to opponents of the arms race than any other arms control organization in America: over $1.1 million in 2008.
Candidates seeking endorsements are required to answer rigorous questionnaires on issues and to defend their positions in interviews. The non-partisan Council does not get involved in every race: it chooses races where the differences between candidates on arms control issues are clear-cut, and recommends candidates in close races where Council dollars can be crucial and when candidates have true financial need. 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.
100% of funds donated to candidates through the Council go directly to the candidates' campaigns.
Voting Records
The Council is one of the only progressive national security organizations that produces voting records on every member of Congress based on issues such as nuclear weapons, non-proliferation, missile defense, the war in Iraq, and U.S. relations with Iran. Because it is one of the only national security groups to produce comprehensive voting records, they are cited frequently by other groups, blogs and political candidates. The Council has maintained voting records since 1980. [All voting records can be found on its website.]http://livableworld.org/scorecards/votes/
2008 U.S. Senate Winning Endorsements
- Al Franken (D-MN)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
- Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
- Mark Udall (D-CO)
- Tom Udall (D-NM)
2008 U.S. House of Representatives Winning Endorsements
- John Adler (D-NJ)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
- Donna Edwards (D-MD)
- Bill Foster (D-IL)
- Alan Grayson (D-FL)
- John Hall (D-NY)
- Jim Himes (D-CT)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH)
- Dan Maffei (D-NY)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
- Eric Massa (D-NY)
- Patrick Murphy (D-PA)
- Glenn Nye (D-VA)
- Tom Perriello (D-VA)
- Gary Peters (D-MI)
- Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
- Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
- John Yarmuth (D-KY)
2010 Endorsees
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Robin Carnahan (D-MO)
- Russ Feingold (D-WI)
- Paul Hodes (D-NH)
- Scott Murphy (D-NY)
Father Robert F. Drinan National Peace and Human Rights Award
Since 2006, Council for a Livable World and its research center and sister organization, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, present the Father Robert F. Drinan National Peace and Human Rights Award to individuals who exemplify the late Father Drinan's commitment to peace and human justice. The award broadly focuses on U.S. politics, political science, physical science, biology, peace studies, and peace and human rights activism.
2009 Honorees
- Congressman Barney Frank
- Ambassador Robert Gallucci
2008 Honorees
- Senator Dianne Feinstein
- Congressman John Hall
- Actor Richard Schiff
2007 Honoree
- Senator Ted Kennedy
2006 Honoree
- Father Robert Drinan
Board of Directors
Officers
- Ira Lechner, Chairman of the Board
- Gary Collins, President
- John Isaacs, Executive Director
- Jerome Grossman, Chairman Emeritus
- Ivo Spalatin, Secretary-Treasurer
Board
- Timothy Brennan, Attorney
- Paul Castleman, Business Executive
- David Cohen, Experience Corps
- Alice Day, Sociologist
- Dudley Herschbach
- Dr. John H. Johns, Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
- Colonel Richard L. Klass, Colonel, USAF (Ret.)
- Ira Lechner, Attorney
- Priscilla Johnson McMillan, Harvard University
- Matthew Meselson, Harvard University
- Robert K. Musil, Scholar in Residence, American University
- Gene Pokorny, Consultant
- Patricia Schroeder, PeacePAC Chair
- Mark Sternman, Economic Analyst
- Lorin Walker, Business Executive
- Dr. James Walsh, MIT
- Edith B. Wilkie, Congressional Specialist
- Jules Zacher, Attorney
National Advisory Board
- James Arnold, University of California, San Diego
- Aron Bernstein, MIT
- Julian Bond, Writer and Lecturer
- Thomas Downey, Former U.S. Representative
- Roger Fisher, Harvard University
- Margaret Gage, Proteus Fund
- Andrew Grossman, Political Organizer
- Prof. Philip Schrag, Georgetown University Law Center
- Sarah Sewall, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
- Herbert York, University of California, San Diego
References
- ^ http://us.oneworld.net/contact/company/view/8726 Council for a Livable World Profile Page on Oneworld.net
External links
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