Congressional Leaders and Nuclear Experts gather for Ploughshares Fund conference on Future of US Nuclear Policy

November 26, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 12, 2018
 
Media Inquiries: Delfin Vigil | Director of Communications & Marketing | dvigil@ploughshares.org; (415) 259-1247.
 
Reps. Adam Smith and Ted Lieu and Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ed Markey among speakers for Nov. 14 briefing at St. Regis Hotel
 
8:00 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14
St. Regis Hotel, 923 16th Street NW
Washington, DC
 
Washington, DC – On the heels of an historic midterm elections, global security foundation Ploughshares Fund is bringing together leaders of the new Congress along with top experts to discuss the current state and future of US nuclear policy for its second annual conference hosted Wednesday, November 14 at the St. Regis Hotel.
 
Congressman Adam Smith, poised to chair the House Armed Services Committee, as well as Congressman Ted Lieu and Senators Jeff Merkley and Ed Markey, are among a myriad of guest speakers who will address the dramatic developments of the November midterm elections, alternatives to current policies and expectations in the ongoing crises in the Middle East and the Korea Peninsula.
 
The daylong briefing, which will be livestreamed on the Ploughshares Fund Facebook page, will also include an announcement of a groundbreaking new program, the Gender Champions In Nuclear Policy (GCNP). In partnership with the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the GCNP program represents leaders of organizations in the nuclear field who are committed to addressing issues of gender inequality. Participating organizations include Carnegie Corporation of New York, Global Zero, Compton Foundation, and Carnegie Endowment of International Peace, among many others.
 
“This wasn’t just another election, it was a realignment,” said Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione. “We now have an historic opportunity to reshape nuclear policy both in the new Congress and in the presidential campaign. Experts and advocates will have vital roles to play. But what the election revealed is the power of the new mass movement. Synced together with political leadership, these are transformational forces.”
 
Among the conference high-level panels and discussions:
  • Noted journalist Bill Press, Mieke Eoyang of Third Way and Alexandra Bell of Council for a Livable World assessing the impact of the November elections on US national security.
  • Elizabeth Beavers of Indivisible, Iram Ali of MoveOn.org, and Stephen Miles of Win Without War on a panel discussion, “Critical Mass: Nuclear Policy and the Mass Movement.”
  • Author and Ploughshares Fund Board Member Eric Schlosser and Former Defense Secretary William Perry on changes needed to current nuclear policy.
  • Christine Ahn of Women Cross DMZ, Lara Friedman of Foundation for a Middle East Peace and Ploughshares Fund’s Philip Yun discussing crises with Iran and North Korea.
  • A special presentation of Global Zero’s Alternative Nuclear Posture Review with authors Bruce Blair, Emma Claire Foley and Jessica Sleight.
 
For media inquiries: Director of Communications & Marketing Delfin Vigil: dvigil@ploughshares.org; (415) 259-1247.
 
Ploughshares Fund is a global security foundation based in San Francisco, with an office in Washington, DC. Founded in 1981, Ploughshares Fund supports initiatives to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons. It is the largest US philanthropic organization focused exclusively on nuclear security. Visit ploughshares.org
 
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