25 Years of Achievement
Since 1986 2020 has sent over 1 million action postcards to its members and followers across the US. Working in collaboration with other leading environment and peace organizations, 2020 has consistently focused on timely, and meaningful citizen action for peace and the environment.
75% reduction in the number of nuclear weapons
In 1986, when 2020 began, there were roughly 70,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Now, there are just over 20,000. In 2012, as a result of the New START Treaty, the number of nuclear weapons will further decrease to less than 17,000. For twenty-five years, 2020 has concentrated on the treaties, international agreements, and pieces of legislation that have reduced the number of these weapons by 75%.
Here are the details of a small selection from the hundreds of 2020’s successes regarding legislation on peace and environment issues from 1986 to 2011.
1986 November: 2020 members wrote to Representative Silvio Conte (R-MA) asking him to vote for both the Green Amendment and the Dick’s Amendment supporting the SALT II Nuclear Weapons Treaty. Conte voted ‘Yes’ on both amendments, but the treaty was never ratified by the Senate. However, the failure to ratify SALT II led to new successful negotiations on the START Treaty.
December: 2020 helped INFACT, a ‘sister’ organization, grow its membership from 84,000 to 100,000 members to combat GE’s manufacturing of components of nuclear weapons.
1987 April: Just before an important vote on two important arms control amendments, Rep. Silvio Conte (R-MA) became ill. 2020 members contacted him asking that he do his best to be present for the House Appropriations Committee session and to vote for the two amendments. Within 48 hours of the committee vote, Conte’s office received nearly 400 phone calls (mostly from 2020 members) urging him to attend the vote and support the amendments. He did both.
May: When Senator John Kerry opened an office in Springfield, MA, 2020 members showered him with letters urging him to show strong leadership in the Senate on behalf of his ASAT amendment. Susan Carrell a volunteer in his office reported, “I’m a volunteer in Senator Kerry’s Springfield office so I can appreciate ‘first hand’ how effective your 2020 campaigns are. Washington was impressed with the number of letters received when Kerry opened his Western Mass. office. We keep a file of 2020 cards in the office.”
1988 November: Members were asked to write to 5 key policymakers and urge them to cut the military budget for FY’88 below the FY’87 level. At the time, President Reagan’s proposed budget included 56% going toward military spending. Congress cut the national defense budget by 2.9% below the ’87 level.
December: Showed a reversal of Senator Kerry’s position of the KAL-007 shoot down. Initially, he did not want to inquire into the unanswered questions of the disaster. After the 2020 Action Alert was sent, Kerry wrote to Sen. Ford, urging inquiry.
1989: March: Members were asked to write to Conte’s office to urge him to cut the funding for Star Wars. “One of the heavier flows of mail into our office,” according to his administrative assistant. Conte said, “If it hadn’t been for people like you (2020 participants) then maybe S.D.I. would be at $20 Billion to date and not at $12-$15 billion”.
June: Members asked Rep. Conte to testify in a hearing on the International Plutonium Control Act and to cosponsor the bill. Although he did not testify, he did sign on as a cosponsor. The bill went on to be passed by a vote of 284-138 in the House. Congressman Wyden (D-OR) introduced the bill and after it passed, his Defense Aide called Lois Barber to thank all the 2020 subscribers who had contacted Conte on the issue. His support was essential.
Nationwide: Three representatives who were lobbied by 2020 changed their positions and voted to reduce the level of funding for the Strategic Defense Initiative: Barbara Kennelly (D-Conn.), David Nagle (D-Iowa), and Harley Staggers (D-W.Va.).
New Jersey: A Washington-based lobbyist who tracked Democratic Senator Bill Bradley’s voting record over 1987 reported that, “The 2020 Project has had a significant impact on Bradley’s voting and on his willingness to listen to the arms-control community.” Bradley, who had been undecided on five major arms-control issues, subsequently voted right on four out of five.
1990—1994 2020 worked with the national group, the No-GWEN Alliance to cut funding for the Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) system. GWEN was an Air Force communication system originally intended to consist of three hundred 300’ towers strung across the U.S. The towers were hardened to the electromagnetic pulses generated from the explosions of nuclear weapons, and were intended to allow the U.S. to “fight and prevail in a protracted nuclear war.” 2020 helped pass legislation in the U.S. Congress to eliminate all funding for the GWEN program. The 53 towers that were built now serve the peaceful purposes of surveying and mapping roads to enhance emergency response times, and to facilitate the conservation of land.
1991 April: California 2020 members contacted Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and Rep. Ron Dellums (D-CA) urging them to co-sponsor a bill introduced by Rep. George Hochbruekner (D-NY) that would transfer funds within the Pentagon’s budget to pay for the much needed clean-up of and environmental compliance of over 14,000 contaminated sites on military bases across the country. As letters and phone calls were received, both Reps. called Hochbrueckner’s office to offer cosponsorship. Hochbruecker’s Defense Aide and Friends of the Earth gave 2020 credit for gathering these and several other cosponsors on the bill.
June: 2020 members asked their Senators to ratify the START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) Treaty. The Treaty was ratified in July 1991, and was the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history between the U.S. and Russia.
1992 October: Members were asked to write to Senator Edward Kennedy asking him to support lowering defense spending for the Strategic Defense Initiative, S.D.I., to vote for an end to the production of the B2 Bomber, and to resume his effort on behalf of a comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons testing. According to his staff, he received several hundred letters on these issues and voted just as 2020 requested. S.D.I. funding was cut by $1.05 billion, the B2 bomber program received no further production money, and Kennedy became a co-sponsor of the Nuclear Test Moratorium Bill.
1994 April: In celebration of Earth Day, 2020 members wrote Letters-to-the-Editor to major newspapers urging senators and representatives to support the strongest possible environmental legislation that year. Member’s letters were published in USA Today, The New York Times, and The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
1996 January: Throughout 1995, 2020 members contacted their Senators to ratify the START II Treaty. The Senate ratified the Treaty in January 1996, but later failed to ratify a protocol to the Treaty, and it never went into effect. The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which required the United States and Russia to reduce their deployed strategic arsenals to 1,700-2,200 warheads apiece by December 31, 2012, effectively superseded the START Treaty.
March: 2020 members wrote to their senators to either urge them to repeal, or praise them for their support to repeal, the ESA (Endangered Species Act) moratorium which prevented any new species from being protected by the ESA. A month later, President Clinton lifted the 13-month moratorium as part of the 1996 Budget Bill.
California: CA’s 17th Congressional District helped persuade the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to limit the use of the highly toxic material, methyl bromide.
1997 April: The Senate voted 74 to 26 to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an international treaty to ban the production, sale, and transfer of chemical weapons. 2020 Action allied itself with 16 arms control organizations and produced a tailored action postcard that was sent to all the organizations’ members. Senate offices reported getting an enormous volume of letters in support of ratification.
New York: NY’s 23rd Congressional District core group helped persuade Representative Sherwood Boehlert to vote to end funding for the B-2 bomber.
1998 October—December: As requested by 2020 members, the EPA announced new rules mandating a 90% reduction of sulfur in gasoline, the use of ‘clean car’ technology, a phase-out of the SUV loophole, and a clean-up plan for diesel passenger vehicles. For the first time, SUV’s and other light trucks were required to meet the same emission standards as new cars. This had the same effect as taking 54 million cars off the road.
1999 August: 2020 joined a campaign to urge Home Depot to stop selling “old growth” and rainforest lumber. Home Depot agreed to phase out wood products from environmentally sensitive areas by the end of 2002.
August: 2020 members wrote to CALFED, urging them to take measures that would save the natural habitat in the San Francisco Bay from pollution. In November CALFED approved over $16 million in funding for 31 restoration projects.
November: 2020 members were instrumental in pressuring Congress to re-pay part of the massive U.S. debt owed to the United Nations. In November, the White House and Congress struck a deal to re-pay $926 million of the 1.5 billion debt.
2000 September of 1999—2000: 2020 members were asked to contact their Representative and urge him or her to cut the F-22 fighter jet program which had a $200 million per plane price tag. In the defense-spending bill for 2000, $600 million was cut from the program and production of the plane was delayed—only the 5th time in 20 years that a major weapons program suffered a funding cut.
June: 2020 national Core Groups worked with members and local food co-ops across the country, distributing tens of thousands of activist postcards, urging the USDA to change their standards on “organic” products. The result was overwhelming. The USDA received more public comments opposing their “organic” proposal than ever before. Due to the pressure, they went back to the drawing board and came up with a new proposal that more accurately reflected the views of the public and remedied the worst problems of their original proposal.
September: Working with a national coalition, 2020 members successfully pressed the United States Senate to ratify the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on November 17, 2000. This was the first UN treaty ratified by the US Senate in over 10 years and required gaining the support of Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), then Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
2001 February: Members contacted their Representatives to support new legislation that would cut pollution from diesel engines. Subsequently, legislation was introduced in Congress to cut pollution from diesel trucks and buses by 95%.
March: Members supported and helped pass the McCain-Feingold bill which restricted “soft money” (contributions to political parties rather than directly to candidates).
December: Members were asked to contact President Clinton in support of his Roadless Initiative to protect national forest land from road construction. Shortly before leaving office President Clinton took action and placed a ban on the construction of new roads in 58.5 million acres of roadless national forests. This affected one quarter of the land under the Forest Service's jurisdiction and covered 2.2 percent of America's 2.5 billion acres.
2002 Nationwide: New Oil and Gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was narrowly defeated in the 2002 energy bill. This was a top environmental issue for 2020. 2020’s action postcards combined with related grassroots work contributed to this success.
November: After 2020 members were asked to contact their representatives, Congress agreed to slash funding for new types of low-yield nuclear weapons, or “mini-nukes”. The decision was made by the Conference Committee on the FY 2003 Defense Authorization Bill, resolving a House-Senate dispute in favor of the Senate’s ban on such weapons.
2003 July: 2020 members helped pass an amendment that prohibited the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using cost-benefit analyses that would harm seniors. Representative Thomas H. Allen (D-ME) introduced the amendment to the appropriations bill and it passed without opposition.
Nationwide: 2020 members helped cut funding for new nuclear weapons, and more specifically, were instrumental in shutting down the production of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or “bunker buster”. In 2003, Congress cut half of its funding.
2004 From Above (2003): Using the tactics of grassroots lobbying, monthly action cards addressing the issue, and press releases by both 2020 members and core groups, 2020 helped cut the entire program for the “bunker buster” out of the federal budget.
June: 2020 members asked their Representatives to support a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water bill, led by Ohio Republican David Hobson, to cut all funds for new nuclear weapons, and preparations for new nuclear tests. With 2020’s help, it was passed.
From Above (2002): Members again helped stop a pro-oil and gas drilling vote in Congress for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
2005 Nationwide: 2020 members worked with a coalition of groups to build opposition to the “Clear Skies Initiative”, a deceptively named bill that would have weakened the Clean Air Act. After a letter writing campaign to their senators, members were given a victory when the Senate rejected the Bush Administration’s initiative.
2006—2009: The 2020 National office in Washington, DC, with the support of several major foundations, focused its work on organizing over 20 conferences and events across the country, with an emphasis on college campuses, to educate students, citizens, the media, and policymakers on the critical relationship between national security and our nation’s renewable energy policies. This was ground breaking work on a critical issue. During this period, 2020 was also successful in gaining federal support for the development of electric cars.
2010 May: Members were asked to contact their senators and urge them to defeat any efforts to diminish the Clean Air Act. In June, Senator Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a bill to stop the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to curb global warming. In reaction, 53 Senators, all Democrats, voted to defeat Senator Murkowski’s attack on the Clean Air Act. This victory would not have been possible without 2020’s pressure on senators to keep the Clean Air Act intact.
June, August & December: Members were asked to urge their senators to press their colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to swiftly bring the New START treaty to a positive vote, and then to vote for it themselves on the floor of the Senate. On September 16th the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 14-4 in favor of the treaty. On December 22, the Treaty was ratified by the Senate by a vote of 71 to 26. Thirteen Republicans joined all 56 Democrats in voting ‘Yes’. Three senators—all Republicans—were not present. The treaty cut the number of U.S. and Russian long-range nuclear weapons by 30%, and restarted bilateral inspections of weapons sites between the two countries. Under New START, the U.S. and Russia will each reduce its nuclear arsenal to 1,550 warheads.
2011 February: In May 2010, President Obama directed the EPA to develop new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. 2020 members contacted the EPA to support this initiative. The EPA received over 3,000 comments and released its new standards. They have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 250 metric tons and save approximately 500 million barrels of oil over the life of vehicles sold during 2014-2018.
March: Members were asked to contact their representatives and ask for a FY 2011 budget that reflected a move toward global nuclear security. The budget that was passed by Congress on April 15, 2011, increased funding for programs to improve the safe handling of nuclear materials around the world. Threatened cuts were avoided and an additional $190 million (the amount proposed by the Senate) was added to the amount passed by the House. This success represents a victory in turning back Republican efforts to slash this funding. As a result of this victory, the world’s nuclear materials will be more secure.
Read More:
Press Release: 2020 Action Celebrates 25 Years of Effective Activism
2020 Endorsements from Barney Frank, Ben Cohen, 2020 members and more
