Council for a Livable World is a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

-based non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating the U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons. Its stated aim is for "progressive national security policies and helping elect congressional candidates who support them." The Council was founded in 1962 as the Council for Abolishing War by Hungarian nuclear physicist

Leó Szilárd Leo Szilard (; hu, Szilárd Leó, pronounced ; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-German-American physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear ...

. Its research arm, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, provides research to members of Congress and their staff. In February, 2016,

John F. Tierney John F. Tierney (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1997 to 2015. He is a Democrat who represented the state's , which includes the state's North Shore and Cape Ann ...

was appointed the executive director of the Council for a Livable World and the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the council’s affiliated education and research organization. For more than 50 years, the Council for a Livable World has been advocating for a more principled approach to U.S. national security and foreign policy.

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 134 U.S. arms control advocates to the Senate and 226 to the House of Representatives. Council supporters raised over $1.6 million in 2014. 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 Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

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 over fifty years by working on or supporting several issues including: * Rallying support on Capitol Hill in favor of the

Iran nuclear deal The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; fa, برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک , barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak (, ''BARJAM'')), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the nuclear program ...

* Ratifying the

Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for ...

and

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ� ...

, Conventional Forces in Europe, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the

New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty New START ( Russian abbrev.: СНВ-III, ''SNV-III'' from ''сокращение стратегических наступательных вооружений'' "reduction of strategic offensive arms") is a nuclear arms reduction treaty betwee ...

(New START) * Establishing a U.S. nuclear testing moratorium in 1992 * Banning biological weapons and terminating

chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized Ammunition, munition that uses chemicals chemical engineering, formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be an ...

programs * Limiting the deployment of the

MX missile The LGM-118 Peacekeeper, originally known as the MX for "Missile, Experimental", was a MIRV-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) produced and deployed by the United States from 1985 to 2005. The missile could carry up to twelve Mark ...

and

B-2 bomber The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...

* Blocking deployment of

National Missile Defense National missile defense (NMD) is a generic term for a type of missile defense intended to shield an entire country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBMs) or other ballistic missiles. This is also used ...

by the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

* Eliminating funding for the nuclear "

Bunker Buster A bunker buster is a type of munition that is designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground, such as military bunkers. Armor piercing shells Germany Röchling shells were bunker-busting artillery shells, developed by ...

" and "

Reliable Replacement Warhead The Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) was a proposed new American nuclear warhead design and bomb family that was intended to be simple, reliable and to provide a long-lasting, low-maintenance future nuclear force for the United States. Initiated ...

," two new generations of nuclear weapons

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 Robert Frederick Drinan (November 15, 1920 – January 28, 2007) was a Jesuit priest, lawyer, human rights activist, and Democratic U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Drinan left office to obey Pope John Paul II's prohibition on political ...

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.

Officers

*Robert K. Musil, Chair *Jules Zacher, Vice-Chair *Timothy L. Brennan, Secretary *Lorin Walker, Treasurer

Board of directors

*Aron Bernstein, Professor of Physics Emeritus,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

*Paul Castleman, Business Executive *Alice T. Day, Sociologist *Laurie Dewey, Activist; Philanthropist *Katherine Magraw, Foundation Consultant *Gene Pokorny, Consultant *Philip G. Schrag, Professor of Law,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

*Dr. James Walsh, Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program (SSP) *Daniel Wirls, Professor,

Merrill College Merrill College is a residential college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The theme of the college, and the name of its freshman core course, is "cultural identities and global consciousness." Location Merrill is located at the far n ...

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

*Lt. General Robert Gard (ret. USA) PhD, Chairman of the Board, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation * Nicholas Clark, Business executive, and adjunct professor

National advisory board

*Margaret Gage, President and Executive Director, Proteus Fund *Sen.

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

, Former U.S. Senator *Lawrence Hess, Businessman *John Isaacs, Senior Fellow *General John H. Johns, retired brigadier general *Colonel Richard Klass, U.S Air Force (ret.) *

Priscilla Johnson McMillan Priscilla Johnson McMillan (born Priscilla Mary Post Johnson) (July 19, 1928 – July 7, 2021) was an American journalist, translator, author, and historian. She was a Center Associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Har ...

, Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University *

Matthew Meselson Matthew Stanley Meselson (born May 24, 1930) is a geneticist and molecular biologist currently at Harvard University, known for his demonstration, with Franklin Stahl, of semi-conservative DNA replication. After completing his Ph.D. under Linus ...

, Professor, Natural Sciences, Harvard University *

Richard Schiff Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on ''The West Wing'', a role for which he received an Emmy Award. Schiff made his directorial debut with ''The West Wing'', directing ...

, Actor

Staff

*The Honorable John Tierney, Executive Director, Former Member of Congress (1997-2015) *John Isaacs, Senior Fellow *Cain Farmer, Controller *Khalil Cutair, Staff Accountant

References

External links

Council for a Livable World websiteChain Reaction, the Council's blogCenter for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation website
The Council's research organization {{DEFAULTSORT:Council For A Livable World Anti–nuclear weapons movement Peace organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1962 1962 establishments in Washington, D.C.