The US component of ICAN was launched with a lobbying day in Washington aimed at stopping the Bush administration's plans to build the "reliable replacement warhead" (RRW) - a new thermonuclear bomb.

Representatives from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) visited the offices of 58 members of the House and Senate urging members to eliminate funding for the RRW.

This new hydrogen bomb is the first stage in the Bush administration's ambitious "Complex 2030" program build design and production facilities for a new generation of nuclear weapons and to ready the Nevada testing site so these weapons may, possibly, be tested in future.

The lobby day was the first step in an ongoing campaign to block funding for this new weapon, which would be a clear violation of US obligations under Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

PSR has been tracking the defense funding bill as it moves through the Congress and will continue to meet with members of Congress and to do public education work, write editorials, etc, to stop this weapon and promote nuclear disarmament instead.