Back from the Brink (BftB) campaign initiative highlights growing risks posed by nuclear weapons and the importance of community voices
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ryann Vargas | ryann@preventnuclearwar.org
April 7, 2026 — Today, over 250 local and state elected officials from around the country released a letter to members of the U.S. Congress urging leadership and bold action to reduce nuclear risks. As city and state leaders brace for more local impact as a result of the Iran war, they want Congress to pass policies that protect cities from the growing threat of nuclear destruction.
The list of local and state officials includes: Mayor Barbara Lee of Oakland, CA; City Councilmember Nithya Raman of Los Angeles, CA; Alderwoman Maria Hadden of Chicago, IL; Mayor Andre Sayegh of Paterson, NJ, State Senator Julia Salazar of Brooklyn, NY; City Councilmember Mike Siegel of Austin, TX; City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari of Atlanta, GA
They are asking Congress to:
- Co-sponsor H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323, two BftB congressional resolutions which articulate a fundamental new approach to U.S. nuclear weapons policy and spending. The resolutions urge the United States to lead a global effort among all nuclear weapons states to negotiate a verifiable, timebound agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons.
- Support common-sense policies to prevent nuclear war, such as by establishing a “no first use” policy, taking nuclear weapons off of hair trigger alert and ending the current policy that gives the U.S. president sole authority over the decision to use nuclear weapons.
- Cancel the estimated $1.5 trillion dollar-plus plan to replace the entire nuclear arsenal with new, enhanced weapons and for the United States not to resume nuclear explosive testing – which the Trump administration has threatened to do.
“We are living on a planet with enough nuclear weapons to destroy all life as we know it — many times over — and with wars escalating around the world, the risk of that happening has never been more real. This isn’t ‘just how things are.’ This is a choice. A world where we aren’t holding a gun to our own heads is right here, right now — if we want it. That’s why I’m demanding that Congress wake up and take real steps to bring us back from the brink.”
— Rep. Ellen Read, New Hampshire State Representative
“As global tensions rise, it is more urgent than ever that our leaders pursue diplomacy over violence and the threat of nuclear war. While nuclear policy is set at the federal level, my responsibility as a State Senator is to protect the people of the Commonwealth who I represent. Nuclear weapons do not make our communities safer — they put lives at risk and strain already overstretched budgets and resources. I’m grateful to Congressman Jim McGovern and Senator Ed Markey for filing Back from the Brink resolutions, and to their colleagues for supporting this effort. I’m proud to join more than 225 state and local leaders urging Congress to act.”
— Sen. Jo Comerford, Massachusetts State Senator
Interviews are available. To arrange, contact Ryann Vargas at ryann@preventnuclearwar.org.
About Back from the Brink
Founded in 2017, Back from the Brink is a U.S.-based grassroots campaign advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons and common sense policies to prevent nuclear war. The campaign is supported by 500+ organizations, nearly 600 local and state elected officials, 65 members of the U.S. Congress and has 25 active local organizing hubs throughout the United States. Back from the Brink resolutions have been passed in 78 cities and towns throughout the U.S. and in 8 state legislative bodies.
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