[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING REVEREND ROBERT MOORE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2006

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize The Reverend Robert 
Moore for twenty-five years as Executive Director of the Coalition for 
Peace Action.
  The Coalition for Peace Action began in 1980 when a group of 
religious congregations in the Princeton area joined together to 
sponsor a Teaching Conference and Interfaith Service on the theme ``Can 
We Reverse the Nuclear Arms Race?'' At a follow-up meeting several 
weeks later, a decision was made to form an ongoing organization 
dedicated to nuclear disarmament--the Coalition to Reverse the Nuclear 
Arms Race. Rev. Moore served as Steering Committee Chair of the NJ 
Nuclear Weapons Freeze Referendum in 1982 and was instrumental in its 
successful passage by two-thirds of New Jersey voters.
  As the Cold War drew to an end in the late 1980's, the Coalition's 
goals expanded to include the related goals of reaping a major peace 
dividend--a peace economy--and halting weapons trafficking, both 
internationally and domestically. In 1993, to reflect this broader 
agenda, the members voted to change the name of the organization to the 
Coalition for Peace Action. As other peace-seeking organizations have 
come into existence and faded away over the years, the Coalition for 
Peace Action has remained vibrant because Rev. Moore has created an 
organization that is relevant, well informed, committed and practical.
  Rev. Moore has been instrumental in the Coalition's efforts to 
motivate and mobilize peace and non-violence activists. As an example, 
in the late 1980's, the Coalition's ``Target Congress'' project 
recruited and trained over 500 citizen letter-writers to regularly 
write to US Representatives. Those contacted showed significant 
movement toward pro-peace voting records.
  Rev. Moore co-chaired the NJ Coalition Against War in the Middle East 
in 1990-1991, opposing the first Persian Gulf War, and later the N.J. 
Coalition Against War in Iraq from 2002 to the present. Under his 
direction, the Coalition successfully lobbied Congress, as part of a 
national effort, to stop funding for U.S. nuclear weapons testing. 
Despite an initiative engineered by the National Rifle Association to 
rescind the New Jersey ban on assault weapons, the law was preserved by 
an intensive lobbying effort led by the Coalition. In 1995 the first 
Peace Voter campaign in the country distributed tens of thousands of 
voter guides comparing candidates on peace and gun violence issues. In 
2000, the Coalition provided the first-in-the-nation ``NonPartisan 
Candidate Briefings'' to five of six major party candidates in New 
Jersey's U.S. Senate primary, and to 3 of 4 major party candidates in 
two House races.
  Rev. Moore is hailed nationally for his ability to educate and 
mobilize citizens in the name of peace and disarmament. He is an 
outstanding example of a committed citizen taking action for what he 
believes. Rev. Moore is a teacher, advisor, and motivator.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
The Reverend Robert Moore on his twenty-fifth anniversary with the 
Coalition for Peace Action.

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