Sen. Angus King recently joined 25 other U.S. senators in signing a letter to Shaun Donovan, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget. The letter was a request that the Obama administration “seek increased funding for vital nuclear material security and nonproliferation programs.”

In the last several years, the president has proposed reductions in those programs. Since 2009, one such program, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, has either eliminated highly enriched uranium or separated plutonium from their soil in 13 countries, including Ukraine.

Highly enriched uranium is the material needed for construction of a nuclear weapon. Unsecured, highly enriched uranium in the hands of terrorists or unstable countries is certainly a threat to U.S. and global security.

Two sentences from the letter’s final paragraph bear quoting: “Given current world events, now is not the time to pull back on nonproliferation, a major U.S. policy objective. Going forward, we urge you to work with us to ensure that critical nuclear material security and nonproliferation programs have the resources they need.”

The Maine Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility wishes to publicly thank Sen. King for his support of this funding request. Our organization would urge other Mainers to both thank Sen. King and support this position.

Douglas Dransfield, M.D.

board of directors, Maine Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility

Cape Elizabeth