[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 21, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING IN NEVADA AND SEMIPALATINSK: SHARED LEGACY, 
                             SHARED LESSONS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SHELLEY BERKLEY

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 21, 2006

  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of the symposium, Nuclear 
Weapons Testing in Nevada and Semipalatinsk: Shared Legacy, Shared 
Lessons, Ambassador Saudabayev and I expressed our concern over the 
continuous proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world, and 
therefore, declare the following:
  During the cold war, in the second part of the 20th century, the 
lands of Nevada and Kazakhstan became sites for nuclear weapons testing 
by the United States and the Soviet Union, and many of our citizens 
became victims of the radioactive fallout and other contaminants that 
resulted from the testing. These people tragically came to know the 
destructive force of weapons of mass destruction. As a result of 928 
nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site, along with more tests at other 
U.S. proving grounds, and 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Test 
Site, many thousands of innocent Americans and Kazakhs suffered. Many 
continue to this day to suffer the consequences of nuclear testing.
  In 1991, the people of Kazakhstan, under the leadership of President 
Nursultan Nazarbayev, permanently shut down the Semipalatinsk nuclear 
test site and took the courageous decision to voluntarily renounce the 
world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal. Kazakhstan has so far remained 
the only country to make such a decisive and wise move which showed the 
way to a safer world. The United States, at the direction of both 
Democratic and Republican presidents, has maintained a moratorium on 
nuclear testing, has reduced its nuclear arsenal, and has aided in 
decommissioning nuclear weapons abroad.
  Unfortunately, the age of nuclear weapons development has not ended. 
To the contrary, the specter of nuclear weapons is spreading. Today, 
the aspirations of a number of countries, and of international 
terrorist organizations, to acquire nuclear weapons are becoming ever 
more threatening to the future of humankind. Against this background, 
we are grateful to Kazakhstan for its outstanding contribution to 
global security. Kazakhstan's leadership and its cooperation with the 
United States to advance the cause of nonproliferation should serve as 
an example for other countries. The victims of nuclear testing in 
Nevada and Semipalatinsk are eternal reminders to the nations of the 
world to reject developing nuclear weapons, the modern Sword of 
Damocles that has imperiled humanity for too long, and to join together 
to rid the world of the threat of nuclear holocaust.
  We are most pleased to report that today's Symposium in Las Vegas, 
Nevada is another step toward further empowering the people of the 
United States and Kazakhstan to lead all people away from the threat of 
nuclear weapons, and redress the consequences of earlier nuclear 
testing. We pledge to work together to strengthen international 
cooperation to achieve nonproliferation, as we recognize this is the 
only path we can take to make our planet safe for all nations to pursue 
a better future for their people.

                          ____________________