[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 74 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 74

   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding maintenance of the 
                       nuclear weapons stockpile.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 24, 1999

  Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Ms. DeGette, Ms. 
 Eshoo, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Lee, Mrs. Lowey, Mrs. Maloney of New York, 
     Mr. McGovern, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Meehan, Mr. George Miller of 
California, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Owens, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Payne, Mr. Tierney, 
 and Ms. Woolsey) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding maintenance of the 
                       nuclear weapons stockpile.

Whereas it is in the best interests of the Nation and the world to ban nuclear 
        explosive tests forever and to promote nuclear disarmament;
Whereas the priority of nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship should be the 
        safety of the existing arsenal, and there is no need to design or 
        develop new nuclear weapons or to modify the nuclear explosive package 
        in existing weapons;
Whereas the United States has conducted more than 1000 explosive tests of its 
        nuclear weapons arsenal, and the stockpile can be maintained reliably 
        without further nuclear explosive testing;
Whereas an ongoing stockpile evaluation and maintenance program has ensured the 
        safety and reliability of the arsenal for decades, and the Secretaries 
        of Energy and Defense again certified its safety and reliability on 
        December 11, 1998;
Whereas the new stockpile stewardship and management program, funded at 
        $4,500,000,000 annually over ten years, is not needed to maintain the 
        arsenal, and many of its programs and facilities are unnecessary and 
        hence a waste of taxpayer dollars;
Whereas the Department of Energy and the nuclear weapons laboratories intend to 
        use the stockpile stewardship program to maintain and significantly 
        enhance scientific and technical capabilities for undertaking 
        ``development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons'' (as stated in 
        the United States Department of Energy Stockpile Stewardship and 
        Management Plan, 1996);
Whereas maintaining and enhancing capabilities for nuclear weapon design and 
        development is provocative to other nuclear-weapon states and to non-
        nuclear-weapon states, and runs counter to the obligations of the Treaty 
        on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ``to pursue negotiations in 
        good faith on ... cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date 
        and ... nuclear disarmament,'' and counter to the purposes of the 
        Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which include ``constraining the 
        development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons''; and
Whereas there are less costly and more appropriate alternatives that can 
        maintain the United States nuclear weapons stockpile while complying 
        with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban 
        Treaty: Now, therefore be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the priority of the nuclear weapons stockpile 
        stewardship program should be the safety and security of the 
        existing nuclear weapons stockpile, the program should also 
        maintain sufficient weapon reliability to ensure the arsenal's 
        deterrent effect, and the program should not attempt to develop 
        new nuclear weapons;
            (2) the nuclear weapons stockpile can be maintained with a 
        program that is far smaller than the current program, is less 
        expensive, and does not require facilities or experiments that 
        are likely to be used for warhead design or development; and
            (3) the Secretary of Energy should redirect the Department 
        of Energy program for custodianship of the nuclear weapons 
        arsenal toward less costly, less provocative methods that are 
        consistent with United States treaty obligations.
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