[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 77 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 77

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that one of the most grave threats 
   facing the United States is the proliferation of weapons of mass 
 destruction, to underscore the need for a comprehensive strategy for 
dealing with this threat, and to set forth basic principles that should 
                        underpin this strategy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2003

Mr. Daschle (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Biden, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
 Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Reid, Mr. Akaka, Mr. 
Dorgan, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Carper, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Lautenberg, 
Mr. Reed, Mr. Rockefeller, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
Dayton, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Corzine, Mrs. Boxer, 
    Mr. Harkin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Johnson, Mr. 
 Jeffords, and Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that one of the most grave threats 
   facing the United States is the proliferation of weapons of mass 
 destruction, to underscore the need for a comprehensive strategy for 
dealing with this threat, and to set forth basic principles that should 
                        underpin this strategy.

Whereas on September 17, 2002, President Bush stated that ``[t]he gravest danger 
        our Nation faces lies at the crossroads of radicalism and technology. 
        Our enemies have openly declared that they are seeking weapons of mass 
        destruction, and evidence indicates that they are doing so with 
        determination'';
Whereas on February 11, 2003, before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
        Senate, George Tenet, the Director of Central Intelligence, testified 
        that ``[w]e've entered a new world of proliferation . . . Additional 
        countries may decide to seek nuclear weapons as it becomes clear their 
        neighbors and regional rivals are already doing so. The domino theory of 
        the 21st century may well be nuclear'';
Whereas Robert S. Mueller, III, the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, stated on February 11, 2003, that ``[m]y greatest concern 
        is that our enemies are trying to acquire dangerous new capabilities 
        with which to harm Americans. Terrorists worldwide have ready access to 
        information on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons 
        via the internet'';
Whereas the Treaty on Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, with 
        Annexes, Protocols, and Memorandum of Understanding, signed at Moscow on 
        July 31, 1991 (START Treaty) addresses a narrow aspect of the threat 
        posed by weapons of mass destruction--deployed strategic nuclear 
        weapons--and fails to address other aspects of the nuclear threat as 
        well as the threat posed by biological or chemical weapons or materials;
Whereas in a recent bipartisan report, former Senators Warren Rudman and Gary 
        Hart concluded that ``America remains dangerously unprepared to prevent 
        and respond to a catastrophic terrorist attack on U.S. soil'';
Whereas the United States Government last month raised the terrorist threat 
        level and, according to the Director of Central Intelligence, did so in 
        part ``because of threat reporting from multiple sources with strong al 
        Qaeda ties . . . and to plots that could include the use of radiological 
        dispersion devices as well as poisons and chemicals'';
Whereas shortly before the inauguration of President George W. Bush, a 
        bipartisan task force chaired by former Majority Leader of the Senate 
        Howard Baker and former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler reported that 
        ``the most urgent unmet national security threat to the United States 
        today is the danger that weapons of mass destruction or weapons-usable 
        material in Russia could be stolen and sold to terrorists or hostile 
        nation states and used against American troops abroad or citizens at 
        home'';
Whereas other states of concern continue their drive to acquire a weapons of 
        mass destruction (WMD) capability as evidenced by the observation of the 
        Director of Central Intelligence, in testimony before the Select 
        Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, that the intelligence community 
        has ``renewed concern over Libya's interest in WMD'';
Whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been told by Iran that 
        it will not accept the strengthened safeguard protocol of the Agency and 
        is committed to acquiring the ability to independently produce enriched 
        uranium;
Whereas the Bush Administration has failed to begin direct talks with North 
        Korea in spite of the assessment of the United States Government that 
        North Korea may produce sufficient additional nuclear material for six 
        to eight nuclear weapons within six months and the decision of North 
        Korea to expel IAEA inspectors from the Yongbyon complex, to restart its 
        nuclear reactor, to begin moving formerly secure spent nuclear fuel 
        rods, to leave the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 
        done at Washington, London, and Moscow, July 1, 1968 (Nuclear 
        Nonproliferation Treaty or NPT), and to test a new cruise missile;
Whereas the December 2002 National Strategy to Combat Weapons Of Mass 
        Destruction states that ``[w]eapons of mass destruction represent a 
        threat not just to the United States, but also to our friends and allies 
        and the broader international community. For this reason, it is vital 
        that we work closely with like-minded countries on all elements of our 
        comprehensive proliferation strategy.'';
Whereas newspaper accounts of the December 2001 Nuclear Posture Review state 
        that the review concludes the United States might use nuclear weapons to 
        dissuade adversaries from undertaking military programs or operations 
        that could threaten United States interests, that nuclear weapons could 
        be employed against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack, and 
        that in setting requirements for nuclear strike capabilities, North 
        Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya are among the countries that could 
        be involved in immediate, potential, or unexpected contingencies;
Whereas the September 17, 2002, National Security Strategy of the United States 
        states that ``[a]s a matter of common sense and self-defense, America 
        will act against such emerging threats before they are fully formed'' 
        and ``[t]o forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, 
        the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively'';
Whereas General John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
        Staff, has stated that ``[a]ny activities that erode the firebreak 
        between nuclear and conventional weapons or that encourage the use of 
        nuclear weapons for purposes that are not strategic and deterrent in 
nature would undermine the advantage that we derive from overwhelming 
conventional superiority'';
Whereas the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security 
        implied the abandonment by the Bush Administration of the so-called 
        ``negative security assurance'' pledge to refrain from using nuclear 
        weapons against any non-nuclear nation unless that state was allied with 
        a possessor of nuclear weapons, a policy that had been in place for 25 
        years and endorsed by successive Republican and Democratic 
        Administrations;
Whereas documents recently made public from the Stockpile Stewardship Conference 
        Planning Meeting of the Department of Defense held on January 10, 2003, 
        indicate that the United States is moving toward expansion of research 
        and development of new types of nuclear weapons and has sought repeal of 
        the ban on research and development of new low-yield nuclear weapons;
Whereas the United States remains dangerously vulnerable to future terrorist 
        attacks, and the Bush Administration has failed to spend homeland 
        security funds provided by Congress and has repeatedly opposed efforts 
        to increase funding for such homeland security activities as State and 
        local first responders, border security, and food and water safety;
Whereas the Bush Administration has repeatedly failed to meet the funding 
        benchmarks recommended by former Majority Leader of the Senate Howard 
        Baker and former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler for the 
        nonproliferation programs of the Department of Energy;
Whereas notwithstanding the transformation of the strategic environment after 
        the tragic events of September 11, 2001, a policy that moves toward the 
        goal of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and away from the increased 
        reliance on and the importance of nuclear weapons, will serve to further 
        the United States goal of preventing the proliferation of nuclear 
        weapons; and
Whereas in a discussion of the grave threat posed the United States by weapons 
        of mass destruction, President Bush has stated that ``[h]istory will 
        judge harshly those who saw this coming danger but failed to act'': Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the grave threat 
posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction demands that 
the United States develop a comprehensive and robust nonproliferation 
strategy, including--
            (1) the establishment of a broad international coalition 
        against proliferation;
            (2) the prevention of the theft or diversion of chemical 
        weapons from existing stockpiles--
                    (A) by greatly accelerating efforts to destroy such 
                weapons under the terms of the Chemical Weapons 
                Convention in the United States, Russia, and other 
                nations; and
                    (B) by strengthening and enforcing existing 
                treaties and agreements on the elimination or 
                limitation of nuclear, chemical, and biological 
                weapons;
            (3) the termination of the proliferation of weapons of mass 
        destruction, and the systems to deliver such weapons, by the 
        reinforcement of the international system of export controls 
        and by the immediate commencement of negotiations on a protocol 
        to interdict shipments of such weapons and delivery systems;
            (4) an engagement in direct and immediate talks with North 
        Korea, coordinated with United States regional allies, to 
        secure the peaceful end to the nuclear programs and long-range 
        missile programs of North Korea;
            (5) the elimination of excess nuclear weapons in Russia, 
        and the security of nuclear materials in Russia and the states 
        of the former Soviet Union, by the end of the decade in order 
        to prevent the theft or sale of such weapons or materials to 
        terrorist groups or hostile states, including for that 
        purpose--
                    (A) the provision of levels of funding for the 
                nonproliferation programs of the Department of Energy 
                as called for in the report of former Majority Leader 
                of the Senate Howard Baker and former White House 
                Counsel Lloyd Cutler; and
                    (B) the provision of increased funding for the 
                Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program of the 
                Department of Defense;
            (6) the expansion of the Cooperative Threat Reduction 
        program to include additional states willing to engage in 
        bilateral efforts to reduce their nuclear stockpiles;
            (7) the provision of adequate funds for homeland security, 
        including the provision of funds to State, local, and tribal 
        governments to hire, equip, and train the first responders 
        required by such governments; and
            (8) the enhancement of the capability of the United States 
        and other nations to detect nuclear weapons activity by the 
        pursuit of transparency measures.
                                 <all>