[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 38 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 38
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) continues to make an invaluable
contribution to United States and international security, and noting
former Senator Richard G. Lugar's indispensable contributions to
international security and reducing nuclear weapons-related risks.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 14, 2019
Mr. Sherman (for himself, Mr. Banks, Mr. Foster, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr.
Lujan, and Mr. Fleischmann) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) continues to make an invaluable
contribution to United States and international security, and noting
former Senator Richard G. Lugar's indispensable contributions to
international security and reducing nuclear weapons-related risks.
Whereas the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) opened for
signature 50 years ago on July 1, 1968;
Whereas the United States and the former Soviet Union averted a catastrophic
nuclear exchange during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which led
to a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to lessen the
chance of nuclear war, including the NPT;
Whereas President John F. Kennedy predicted in 1963 that as many as 25 countries
would acquire nuclear weapons by 1970 absent a treaty to control nuclear
weapons;
Whereas the United States Senate provided its advice and consent to the NPT on
March 13, 1969, with a vote on ratification of 83 to 15;
Whereas the NPT has grown to include 191 State Parties, making an irreplaceable
contribution to international security by preventing the spread of
nuclear weapons;
Whereas former Senator Richard G. Lugar made indispensable contributions to
reducing nuclear weapon risks, most notably through his leadership in
standing up the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (commonly referred
to as the ``Nunn-Lugar Program''), which eliminated 7,600 nuclear
weapons in the former Soviet Union;
Whereas Senator Lugar successfully secured Senate Advice and Consent for the
Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation
on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic
Offensive Arms, signed April 8, 2010, and entered into force February 5,
2011 (commonly known as the ``New START Treaty'');
Whereas Article III of the NPT obliges each non-nuclear weapon country that is a
party to the NPT to conclude a Safeguards Agreement with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify treaty compliance,
174 of which are Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements crafted to detect
the diversion of nuclear materials from peaceful to non-peaceful uses;
Whereas the 2018 Department of Defense Nuclear Posture Review affirms, ``The
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a cornerstone of the nuclear
non-proliferation regime. It plays a positive role in building consensus
for non-proliferation and enhances international efforts to impose costs
on those that would pursue nuclear weapons outside the Treaty.'';
Whereas the success of the NPT has and will continue to depend upon the full
implementation by all parties of the Treaty's three mutually reinforcing
pillars: non-proliferation, access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy,
and disarmament;
Whereas over the past half century, the United States has exhibited leadership
in strengthening each of the NPT's three pillars for the global good,
including--
(1) reducing its nuclear weapons stockpile by more than 85 percent from
its Cold War heights of 31,225 in parallel with equally massive reductions
of the Russian Federation's stockpile through bilateral coordination;
(2) cooperating with Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus through the Nunn-
Lugar Act to facilitate the surrender of nuclear weapons on their soil
after the fall of the Soviet Union--leading to each country's accession to
the NPT as non-nuclear weapons states;
(3) providing voluntary contributions to the IAEA to promote peaceful
nuclear activities exceeding $378,000,000 since 2010, including activities
that help in the treatment of cancer and other life-saving applications;
and
(4) extending deterrence to United States allies in the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), Japan, and the Republic of Korea--which is an
unmistakable demonstration of the United States commitment to collective
security;
Whereas heightened geopolitical tensions in recent years have made cooperation
on non-proliferation and arms control issues with the Russian Federation
more challenging;
Whereas a range of actions by the Government of the Russian Federation has led
to a deterioration in bilateral relations with the United States,
including--
(1) Russia's brazen interference in the 2016 United States presidential
elections;
(2) its violation of the Treaty between the United States of America
and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their
Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (commonly known as the ``INF
Treaty''), signed at Washington, DC, December 8, 1987, and entered into
force June 1, 1988;
(3) its use of a chemical nerve agent in an assassination attempt
against Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom in
March 2018;
(4) its illegal annexation of Crimea;
(5) its invasion of Eastern Ukraine; and
(6) its destabilizing actions in Syria;
Whereas within a difficult environment, preserving agreements that continue to
contribute to United States and global security, particularly the New
START Treaty, is important, and the Department of State confirmed in
February 2018 that Russia had met New START's Central Treaty Limits and
stated that ``implementation of the New START Treaty enhances the safety
and security of the United States'';
Whereas United States efforts to reduce dangers associated with the nuclear
arsenals of both the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of
China, through an ambitious arms control agreement, would advance United
States and global security, adding to the benefits to stability and
transparency provided by existing agreements;
Whereas Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a March 2018 speech, unveiled
details of new kinds of strategic nuclear weapons under development that
may be accountable under the provisions of the New START Treaty,
including hypersonic nuclear weapons, nuclear-powered cruise missiles,
and multi-megaton nuclear torpedoes shot from drone submarines;
Whereas the Russian Federation erroneously claimed that the United States may
have not reached New START Treaty Central Limits by February 5, 2018, as
is mandated by the Treaty;
Whereas the Bilateral Consultative Commission is the appropriate forum for the
Parties to engage constructively on any New START Treaty implementation
issues that arise; and
Whereas the collapse of the INF Treaty and expiration of the New START Treaty
would lead to the absence of any binding, bilateral treaty or agreement
governing United States and Russian nuclear forces for the first time
since 1972: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States should continue to encourage all
parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) to comply fully with the Treaty;
(2) the United States should maintain support for the
International Atomic Energy Agency through its assessed and
voluntary contributions and promote the universal adoption of
the IAEA Additional Protocol;
(3) the United States should--
(A) consider extending the Treaty between the
United States of America and the Russian Federation on
Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of
Strategic Offensive Arms, signed at Prague April 8,
2010, and entered into force February 5, 2011 (``New
START Treaty''), within the context of wider
enhancement of strategic stability between the United
States and the Russian Federation, provided that the
treaty continues to advance United States national
security;
(B) assess whether Russia's recently-announced
nuclear capabilities should be accountable under the
New START Treaty and raise the issue directly with
Russia;
(C) conclude an interagency process to consider an
extension of the New START Treaty and to engage with
Russia on the full range of strategic stability issues
and other arms control and non-proliferation issues;
(D) begin negotiations with Russia on an agreement
to address the massive disparity between the non-
strategic nuclear weapons stockpiles of Russia and the
United States and to secure and reduce non-strategic
nuclear weapons in a verifiable manner; and
(E) consider the consequences of the New START
Treaty's expiration in 2021 in relation to the insights
it provides into the location, movement, and
disposition of current and future Russian strategic
systems;
(4) the United States strongly condemns Russia's violations
of the Treaty Between the United States of America and the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their
Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, signed at
Washington December 8, 1987, and entered into force June 1,
1988, and urges it to come back into full compliance prior to
August 2, 2019;
(5) in responding to Russia's deployment of INF-range
systems, the United States should advocate for those defense
and deterrence steps which preserve the cohesion of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization and are aimed at averting an arms
race on the European continent;
(6) pursuit of a verifiable and comprehensive arms control
agreement with Russia and the People's Republic of China, which
may capture strategic and non-strategic nuclear weapons
capabilities, would enhance United States and global security
by building upon other treaties, agreements, and transparency
measures to reduce nuclear risk; and
(7) the United States should continue to encourage
opportunities for cooperation with other nuclear weapons-
possessing countries to reduce the salience, number, and role
of nuclear weapons in their national military strategies.
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