U.S. Conference of Mayors Urges the United States to Lead a Global Effort to Halt and Reverse the Nuclear Arms Race

LONG BEACH, CA, UNITED STATES, June 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On June 7, 2026, at its Annual Meeting, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) unanimously adopted a bold new resolution, “Urging the United States to Lead a Global Effort to Halt and Reverse the Nuclear Arms Race.”

The USCM is the official nonpartisan association of over 1,500 American cities with populations above 30,000. Resolutions adopted at its annual meetings become USCM official policy.

The resolution opens with a stark reminder: “[M]ore than 12,000 nuclear weapons…. remain in the global nuclear arsenal and continue to pose an intolerable risk to humanity” and “the last remaining U.S. – Russian arms control agreement, New START, expired on February 5, 2026…. [F]or the first time in 50 years, there are no limits on the number of U.S. and Russian deployed nuclear weapons.”

President Trump’s proposed 2027 budget raises the total U.S. war budget to an unprecedented $1.5 Trillion while proposing significant cuts to programs critical for American cities. The resolution notes: “[T]he President’s proposed 2027 budget request seeks to raise spending on U.S. nuclear weapons by 12 percent to maintain and modernize its nuclear triad….” and ‘[T]he qualitative and quantitative nuclear modernization programs underway in the U.S., Russia, China, France, and the UK violate their [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty] Article VI disarmament obligation, in force since 1970.”

Mayor Lacey Beaty, Beaverton, OR, lead sponsor of the resolution, commented: “As a combat veteran, I understand that war is paid for in human lives, family sacrifice, and community resources. Mayors see those costs up close: in our veterans, in our families, in our housing needs, in our budgets. This resolution says we need diplomacy, accountability, and investment in our people, not weapons.”

Mayor Adena Ishii, Berkeley, CA, a co-sponsor, declared: “Berkeley has long stood as a Nuclear Free Zone, and I am proud to represent a city that unequivocally opposes the advancement of nuclear weapons. There are no positive outcomes from the development or use of these weapons; only mass destruction and devastation. At a time when conflicts are escalating around the world, I join mayors across the country in calling on our federal government to pursue peaceful solutions and end our investment in nuclear weapons.”

Jackie Cabasso, Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator, added, “The wars against Ukraine and Iran, in which nuclear-armed states are illegally attacking non-nuclear weapon states, aggravate a gravely deteriorating global security situation. This resolution by America’s mayors is a clarion call for sanity.”

Reflecting the urgency of the moment, the Conference “calls on the Administration…. to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war, move the world back from the nuclear brink, and halt and reverse a new global nuclear arms race…,” and “urges Congress to pass H. RES. 317, ‘Urging the United States to lead the world back from the brink of nuclear war and halt and reverse the nuclear arms race’ and S. RES. 323, ‘Urging the United States to lead a global effort to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race….’”

The Conference “calls on its members to take action at the municipal level to raise public awareness about the growing dangers of nuclear war…. and the urgent need for good faith U.S. leadership in negotiating the global elimination of nuclear weapons” and “invites…. its members to join Mayors for Peace to help the organization reach its membership goal of 10,000 cities.”

Finally, the Conference “calls on the Administration and Congress to carefully weigh the immense costs of proposed nuclear modernization against the urgent domestic needs of American cities, and to ensure that finite federal resources are prioritized to adequately support vital municipal assistance programs, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships.”

Mayors for Peace, led by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is working for a world without nuclear weapons, safe and resilient cities, and a culture of peace. As of June 1, 2026, the organization had grown to 8,579 cities in 166 countries and territories, with 245 U.S. members.

The 2026 USCM Mayors for Peace resolution was sponsored by: Mayors Lacey Beaty, Beaverton, OR; Larry Agran, Irvine, CA; Martha Guerrero, West Sacramento, CA; Adena Ishii, Berkeley, CA; Elizabeth Kautz, Burnsville, MN; Chris Koos, Normal, IL; and Barbara Lee, Oakland, CA.

Jackie Cabasso
Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator
+1 510-306-0119
wslf@earthlink.net

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