[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2891 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2891

         To prevent nuclear terrorism, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2007

   Mrs. Tauscher (for herself, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Brady of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Spratt, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Smith of Washington, and 
Mr. Loebsack) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To prevent nuclear terrorism, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``Convention on the Physical Protection of 
        Nuclear Material'' means the Convention on the Physical 
        Protection of Nuclear Material, signed at New York and Vienna 
        March 3, 1980.
            (2) The term ``formula quantities of strategic special 
        nuclear material'' means uranium-235 (contained in uranium 
        enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope), uranium-
        233, or plutonium in any combination in a total quantity of 
        5,000 grams or more computed by the formula, grams = (grams 
        contained U-235) + 2.5 (grams U-233 + grams plutonium), as set 
        forth in the definitions of ``formula quantity'' and 
        ``strategic special nuclear material'' in section 73.2 of title 
        10, Code of Federal Regulations.
            (3) The term ``Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty'' means the 
        Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at 
        Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 1968, and entered into 
        force March 5, 1970 (21 UST 483).
            (4) The term ``nuclear weapon'' means any device utilizing 
        atomic energy, exclusive of the means for transporting or 
        propelling the device (where such means is a separable and 
        divisible part of the device), the principal purpose of which 
        is for use as, or for the development of, a weapon, a weapon 
        prototype, or a weapon test device.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The possibility that terrorists may acquire and use a 
        nuclear weapon against the United States is the most horrific 
        threat that our Nation faces.
            (2) The September 2006 ``National Strategy for Combating 
        Terrorism'' issued by the White House states, ``Weapons of mass 
        destruction in the hands of terrorists is one of the gravest 
        threats we face.''
            (3) Former Senator and cofounder of the Nuclear Threat 
        Initiative Sam Nunn has stated, ``Stockpiles of loosely guarded 
        nuclear weapons material are scattered around the world, 
        offering inviting targets for theft or sale. We are working on 
        this, but I believe that the threat is outrunning our 
        response.''.
            (4) Existing programs intended to secure, monitor, and 
        reduce nuclear stockpiles, redirect nuclear scientists, and 
        interdict nuclear smuggling have made substantial progress, but 
        additional efforts are needed to reduce the threat of nuclear 
        terrorism as much as possible.
            (5) Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has 
        said that a nuclear terror attack ``would not only cause 
        widespread death and destruction, but would stagger the world 
        economy and thrust tens of millions of people into dire 
        poverty''.
            (6) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) 
        reaffirms the need to combat by all means, in accordance with 
        the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international 
        peace and security caused by terrorist acts, and directs all 
        countries, in accordance with their national procedures, to 
        adopt and enforce effective laws that prohibit any non-state 
        actor from manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, developing, 
        transporting, transferring, or using nuclear, chemical, or 
        biological weapons and their means of delivery, in particular 
        for terrorist purposes, and to prohibit attempts to engage in 
        any of the foregoing activities, participate in them as an 
        accomplice, or assist or finance them.
            (7) The Director General of the International Atomic Energy 
        Agency, Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei, has said that it is a ``race 
        against time'' to prevent a terrorist attack using a nuclear 
        weapon.
            (8) The International Atomic Energy Agency plays a vital 
        role in coordinating efforts to protect nuclear materials and 
        to combat nuclear smuggling.
            (9) Legislation sponsored by Senator Richard Lugar, Senator 
        Pete Domenici, and former Senator Sam Nunn has resulted in 
        groundbreaking programs to secure nuclear weapons and materials 
        and to help ensure that such weapons and materials do not fall 
        into the hands of terrorists.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR TERRORISM.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the President should make the prevention of a nuclear 
        terrorist attack on the United States of the highest priority;
            (2) the President should accelerate programs, requesting 
        additional funding as appropriate, to prevent nuclear 
        terrorism, including combating nuclear smuggling, securing and 
        accounting for nuclear weapons, and eliminating, removing, or 
        securing and accounting for formula quantities of strategic 
        special nuclear material wherever such quantities may be;
            (3) the United States should take a comprehensive approach 
        to reducing the danger of nuclear terrorism, including by 
        making additional efforts to identify and eliminate terrorist 
        groups that aim to acquire nuclear weapons, to ensure that 
        nuclear weapons worldwide are secure and accounted for and that 
        formula quantities of strategic special nuclear material 
        worldwide are eliminated, removed, or secure and accounted for 
        to a degree sufficient to defeat the threat that terrorists and 
        criminals have shown they can pose, and to increase the ability 
        to find and stop terrorist efforts to manufacture nuclear 
        explosives or to transport nuclear explosives and materials 
        anywhere in the world;
            (4) within such a comprehensive approach, a high priority 
        must be placed on ensuring that all nuclear weapons worldwide 
        are secure and accounted for and that all formula quantities of 
        strategic special nuclear material worldwide are eliminated, 
        removed, or secure and accounted for; and
            (5) the International Atomic Energy Agency should be funded 
        appropriately to fulfill its role in coordinating international 
        efforts to protect nuclear material and to combat nuclear 
        smuggling.

SEC. 5. SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT FOR THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR 
              TERRORISM.

    (a) Designation of Position.--The President shall designate an 
individual to serve in the Executive Office of the President as the 
Senior Advisor to the President for the Prevention of Nuclear 
Terrorism.
    (b) Duties.--The Senior Advisor to the President, under the 
direction of the Assistant to the President for National Security 
Affairs, shall be responsible for--
            (1) advising the President on all matters relating to 
        preventing nuclear terrorism and responding to a nuclear 
        terrorism event;
            (2) directing and coordinating the formulation of United 
        States policies for preventing nuclear terrorism, including--
                    (A) developing plans, including timelines, 
                measurable milestones, and targets to which the 
                departments and agencies of the United States 
                Government can be held accountable, to better prevent 
                nuclear terrorism;
                    (B) identifying and addressing gaps, duplication, 
                and inefficiencies in existing programs and taking 
                other appropriate actions to overcome obstacles to 
                accelerated progress to prevent nuclear terrorism;
                    (C) overseeing and coordinating the development, by 
                the departments and agencies of the United States 
                Government, of accelerated and strengthened program 
                implementation strategies and diplomatic strategies 
                with respect to the prevention of nuclear terrorism;
                    (D) overseeing and coordinating the development of 
                budget requests for programs to prevent nuclear 
                terrorism and ensuring that such requests adequately 
                reflect the priority of the threat of nuclear 
                terrorism; and
                    (E) identifying such new initiatives to prevent 
                nuclear terrorism as may be needed; and
            (3) coordinating United States efforts to implement such 
        policies.

SEC. 6. MINIMUM SECURITY STANDARD FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND FORMULA 
              QUANTITIES OF STRATEGIC SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL.

    (a) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to take all 
possible steps to ensure that all nuclear weapons around the world are 
secure and accounted for and that all formula quantities of strategic 
special nuclear material are eliminated, removed, or secure and 
accounted for to a level sufficient to defeat the threats posed by 
terrorists and criminals.
    (b) International Nuclear Security Standard.--In furtherance of the 
policy described in subsection (a), and consistent with the requirement 
for ``appropriate effective'' physical protection contained in United 
Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004), as well as the Nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Convention on the Physical Protection 
of Nuclear Material, the President, in consultation with the Senior 
Advisor to the President for the Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism and 
relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall seek the broadest 
possible international agreement on a global standard for nuclear 
security that--
            (1) ensures that nuclear weapons and formula quantities of 
        strategic special nuclear material are secure and accounted for 
        to a sufficient level to defeat the threats posed by terrorists 
        and criminals;
            (2) takes into account the limitations of equipment and 
        human performance; and
            (3) includes steps to provide confidence that the needed 
        measures have in fact been implemented.
    (c) International Efforts.--In furtherance of the policy described 
in subsection (a), the President, in consultation with the Senior 
Advisor to the President for the Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism and 
relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall--
            (1) work with other countries and the International Atomic 
        Energy Agency to assist, and if necessary convince, the 
        governments of any and all countries in possession of nuclear 
        weapons or formula quantities of strategic special nuclear 
        material to ensure that security is upgraded to meet the 
        standard described in subsection (b) as rapidly as possible and 
        in a manner that--
                    (A) accounts for the nature of the terrorist and 
                criminal threat in each such country; and
                    (B) ensures that any measures to which the United 
                States and any such country agree are sustained after 
                United States and other international assistance ends;
            (2) ensure that United States financial and technical 
        assistance is available to countries for which the provision of 
        such assistance would accelerate the implementation of, or 
        improve the effectiveness of, such security upgrades; and
            (3) work with the governments of other countries to ensure 
        that effective nuclear security rules, accompanied by effective 
        regulation and enforcement, are put in place to govern all 
        nuclear weapons and formula quantities of strategic special 
        nuclear material around the world.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than September 1 of each year, the 
President, in consultation with the Senior Advisor to the President for 
the Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism and relevant Federal departments 
and agencies, shall submit to Congress a report on the security of 
nuclear weapons, formula quantities of strategic special nuclear 
material, radiological materials, and related equipment worldwide.
    (b) Elements.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            (1) A section on the programs for the security and 
        accounting of nuclear weapons and the elimination, removal, and 
        security and accounting of formula quantities of strategic 
        special nuclear material and radiological materials, 
        established under section 3132(b) of the Ronald W. Reagan 
        National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (50 
        U.S.C. 2569(b)), which shall include the following:
                    (A) A survey of the facilities and sites worldwide 
                that contain nuclear weapons or related equipment, 
                formula quantities of strategic special nuclear 
                material, or radiological materials.
                    (B) A list of such facilities and sites determined 
                to be of the highest priority for security and 
                accounting of nuclear weapons and related equipment, or 
                the elimination, removal, or security and accounting of 
                formula quantities of strategic special nuclear 
                material and radiological materials, taking into 
                account risk of theft from such facilities and sites, 
                and organized by level of priority.
                    (C) A prioritized diplomatic and technical plan, 
                including measurable milestones, metrics, estimated 
                timetables, and estimated costs of implementation, on 
                the following:
                            (i) The security and accounting of nuclear 
                        weapons and related equipment and the 
                        elimination, removal, or security and 
                        accounting of formula quantities of strategic 
                        special nuclear material and radiological 
                        materials at such facilities and sites 
                        worldwide.
                            (ii) Ensuring that security upgrades and 
                        accounting reforms implemented at such 
                        facilities and sites worldwide using the 
                        financial and technical assistance of the 
                        United States are effectively sustained after 
                        such assistance ends.
                    (D) An assessment of the progress made in 
                implementing the plan described in subparagraph (C), 
                including a description of the efforts of foreign 
                governments to secure and account for nuclear weapons 
                and related equipment and to eliminate, remove, or 
                secure and account for formula quantities of strategic 
                special nuclear material and radiological materials.
            (2) A section on efforts to establish and implement the 
        international nuclear security standard described in section 
        6(b) and related policies.
    (c) Form.--The report may be submitted in classified form but shall 
include a detailed unclassified summary.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Removal of Highly Enriched Uranium.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 2008, 
$50,000,000--
            (1) to increase international participation in efforts to 
        convert nuclear facilities that operate using highly enriched 
        uranium to operation using low enriched uranium; and
            (2) to remove highly enriched uranium from such facilities.
    (b) National Technical Nuclear Forensics Research and 
Development.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
of Energy for fiscal year 2008, $40,000,000 for national technical 
nuclear forensics research and development efforts to further the 
capability to identify the origin of nuclear weapons and strategic 
special nuclear material through signatures development, knowledge base 
and data management, and collection and analysis capabilities.
    (c) Office of Nuclear Security of the International Atomic Energy 
Agency.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
State for fiscal year 2008, $10,000,000 for the Office of Nuclear 
Security of the International Atomic Energy Agency to--
            (1) support the role of the Office in preventing nuclear 
        terrorism, including managing the Illicit Trafficking Database; 
        and
            (2) work with other countries on the establishment and 
        implementation of the international nuclear security standard 
        described in section 6(b).
    (d) Security Upgrades.--
            (1) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 2008, $100,000,000--
                    (A) to provide for security and accounting upgrades 
                at vulnerable facilities and sites worldwide that hold 
                nuclear weapons, formula quantities of strategic 
                special nuclear material, radiological materials, or 
                related equipment;
                    (B) to ensure that security upgrades already in 
                place can be sustained by the governments of the 
                countries in which such facilities and sites are 
                located and that organizations that manage and protect 
                such facilities and sites build organizational cultures 
                with a strong focus on security; and
                    (C) to assist in the development and enforcement of 
                nuclear security regulations by the governments of such 
                countries.
            (2) Condition on use of funds.--None of the amount 
        authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) may be obligated 
        or expended for the purposes described in paragraph (1) until 
        the President certifies to Congress that sufficient diplomatic 
        progress has been made to enable security upgrades at 
        additional vulnerable facilities worldwide that hold nuclear 
        weapons, formula quantities of strategic special nuclear 
        material, radiological materials, or related equipment.
    (e) Conversion of Highly Enriched Uranium.--
            (1) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 2008, $200,000,000 
        to assist the Government of Russia in enhancing its capacity to 
        convert highly enriched uranium into low enriched uranium to 
        allow additional highly enriched uranium in Russia to be 
        converted into low enriched uranium appropriate for civil 
        energy use and to increase the rate at which such conversion 
        takes place.
            (2) Condition on use of funds.--None of the amount 
        authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) may be obligated 
        or expended for the purpose described in paragraph (1) until 
        the President certifies to Congress that the Government of 
        Russia acknowledges the need and demonstrates the willingness 
        to convert additional highly enriched uranium in excess of its 
        national security needs to low enriched uranium appropriate for 
        civil energy use.
    (f) Supplement Not Supplant.--The amounts authorized to be 
appropriated by subsections (a) through (e) for the purposes set forth 
in such subsections are in addition to any other amounts authorized to 
be appropriated for such purposes.
                                 <all>