[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATOR JOSEPH BIDEN PROPOSES INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR LIBRARY TO THWART 
                           NUCLEAR TERRORISM

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                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2007

  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I would like to call the attention of my 
colleagues in the House to a recent article by the distinguished 
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Joseph 
Biden of Delaware. For the past 34 years that he has served in the 
Congress, Senator Biden has been a steadfast proponent of strong 
American policies to deal with nuclear non-proliferation.
  In a column published last week in the Wall Street Journal Senator 
Biden proposed an ``International Nuclear Library'' that would store 
the nuclear signatures of the stockpiles of nuclear materials of all 
participating nations. Such a program would allow not only the United 
States but all participating countries to know that if any nuclear 
materials were inappropriately used, it would be possible to identify 
with certainty just where the culprits found their nuclear materials--a 
very strong deterrence to misuse.
  Madam Speaker, Senator Biden's proposal would encourage more 
responsible behavior by countries with nuclear materials. It would 
provide a strong incentive for close monitoring of nuclear stockpiles. 
This plan would also give all participating countries a source for any 
radioactive materials that have entered or exited their borders.
  I welcome Senator Biden's excellent and progressive proposal. Madam 
Speaker, I ask that Senator Biden's article be placed in the Record, 
and I urge all of my colleagues to give it careful and thoughtful 
attention.

              [From the Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2007]

                               CSI: Nukes

                       (By Senator Joseph Biden)

       The most dangerous threat America faces is the possibility 
     that one of the world's most extreme groups--like al Qaeda--
     gets its hands on a nuclear bomb. Luckily, a would-be nuclear 
     terrorist cannot make the ingredients for a modern-day 
     Hiroshima by himself. Either a state will have to give or 
     sell him a bomb or the nuclear material to make one, or the 
     terrorist will have to steal the material.
       To bring deterrence into the 21st century and prevent an 
     attack from ever occurring, the United States and other 
     potential targets of nuclear terrorism must take advantage of 
     nuclear terrorists' reliance on states.
       The U.S. has long deterred a nuclear attack by states, by 
     clearly and credibly threatening devastating retaliation. Now 
     is the time for a new type of deterrence: We must make clear 
     in advance that we will hold accountable any country that 
     contributes to a terrorist nuclear attack, whether by 
     directly aiding would-be nuclear terrorists or willfully 
     neglecting its responsibility to secure the nuclear weapons 
     or weapons-usable nuclear material within its borders. 
     Deterrence cannot rest on words alone. It must be backed up 
     by capabilities.
       Before, we relied on being able to track incoming bombers 
     or missiles to know who had attacked us. Today, because a 
     nuclear bomb might be delivered in a rental van or a boat, 
     the credibility of the new deterrence will rest on our 
     scientific ability to examine the air and ground debris 
     created by an attack to determine the source of the nuclear 
     material.
       Building on work from the Cold War, the U.S. is a leader in 
     this new science of nuclear forensics. Any country today that 
     aids a would-be nuclear terrorist, through action or neglect, 
     has to be concerned about getting caught. But we can and must 
     do more to improve our ability in this area, and to make our 
     ability to trace the source of a nuclear explosion widely 
     known. We need more nuclear forensics research, more 
     scientists to analyze nuclear samples, and an assured 
     ability--using our own aircraft or those of cooperating 
     states--to quickly collect nuclear debris from the site of 
     any attack, in this country or around the world.
       While there is a lot the U.S. can do on its own to deter 
     countries from helping nuclear terrorists, there is much more 
     we can do through cooperation with other governments. In the 
     aftermath of an attack--or much better, if terrorists are 
     caught smuggling nuclear material before an attack--
     scientists would want to compare the samples they collect 
     against what is known about other countries' nuclear 
     material, to figure out the samples' country of origin. To 
     enable such work, the U.S. should take the lead in creating 
     an international nuclear forensics library.
       The library could house actual samples of nuclear material 
     contributed by participating countries, validated data about 
     their material, or binding agreements to provide 
     predetermined data in the immediate aftermath of an attack or 
     smuggling incident. A library cannot guarantee that in the 
     wake of an attack the world could assign blame to a country, 
     but it could be a critical tool in narrowing an investigation 
     and debunking wild rumors or allegations. Countries might 
     hesitate to share their nuclear material, but the library 
     could safeguard samples and identify their origin only if 
     they matched smuggled material or nuclear debris. Any country 
     that refused to contribute to a nuclear forensics library 
     would risk condemnation or suspicion in the event of a 
     terrorist nuclear attack.
       Working out arrangements--to ensure that samples and data 
     stay in trusted hands and that countries cannot fake the 
     samples or data they submit--won't be easy. That is all the 
     more reason to build on existing data collections in Russia 
     and Germany and work with other countries to craft such a 
     world-wide nuclear forensics library.
       Four years ago, I proposed improving our nuclear forensics 
     capabilities, but today funding for critical nuclear analysis 
     by our National Laboratories remains dangerously low. 
     Congress must give the labs the resources that they need--and 
     that America's security demands.
       This new form of deterrence must add to, not replace, other 
     efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism. We must devote far more 
     dollars and people to working with Russia and other countries 
     to secure and reduce stockpiles of nuclear weapons and 
     materials and to remove nuclear weapons-usable materials from 
     as many sites as possible. The president must make this 
     effort his or her personal priority.
       Deterrence based on strong nuclear forensics is a critical 
     tool to help prevent nuclear terrorism. To prevent a nuclear 
     9/11, we must use every tool we have.

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