Physicians Applaud Progress on Nuclear Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2013
CONTACT: Ashish Sinha, Manager of Security Programs, 202-587-5251, asinha@psr.org

BERLIN — On Wednesday, President Barack Obama took a meaningful step towards reducing the threat posed by nuclear weapons in his speech by Brandenburg Gate. Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) Dr. Catherine Thomasson applauds President Obama’s call to move past Cold War era policies and adopt a 21st century national security agenda.

“President Obama’s move to reduce U.S. and Russian strategic weapons by one-third represents the type of leadership the world needs to combat the proliferation of these weapons of mass destruction,” Dr. Thomasson said. “These reductions, combined with the essential efforts to lock-down vulnerable nuclear material, represents the type of preventive action that we, as physicians, believe is necessary to make our country stronger.”

The President’s remarks come at a critical time in the debate over the Federal Budget in Congress. As the country struggles to abide by sequestration, lawmakers are making decisions that could harm our economic competitiveness as well as life-saving services for the needy. These reductions in nuclear weapons will enable our representatives to save billions of dollars that can be used to rebuild our schools, invest in our work-force and help reduce our debt.

“We are appreciative but not content in the announcement of modest reductions in nuclear weapons,” Dr. Thomasson said. “The international community is watching and the expectations on the United States are high to live up to their obligations. There is a bipartisan national security consensus that we need to move urgently to lower levels of nuclear weapons and engage in multi-lateral talks to combat the spread of nuclear weapons.

Physicians for Social Responsibility is the largest physician-led organization in the U.S. working to prevent nuclear war and proliferation and to slow, stop and reverse global warming and toxic degradation of the environment. For more information on PSR, please visit www.psr.org.

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