[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 126 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10811-S10812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. OBAMA (for himself and Mr. Hagel):
  S. 1977. A bill to provide for sustained United States leadership in 
a cooperative global effort to prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce global 
nuclear arsenals, stop the spread of nuclear weapons and related 
material and technology, and support the responsible and peaceful use 
of nuclear technology; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, the spread of nuclear weapons and related 
technology and the possibility that a nuclear weapon could fall into 
the hands of terrorists constitute the most urgent threat to our 
national security. As experts on this issue such as Henry Kissinger, 
George Shultz, Bill Perry, and Sam Nunn have all warned, our current 
policies to deal with the threat posed by nuclear weapons are simply 
not adequate.
  We know al-Qaida has made it a goal to acquire a nuclear weapon. At 
the same time, significant quantities of the material necessary to make 
one remain vulnerable to theft in various parts of the world. And, to 
make matters worse, the world may be on the brink of a new and 
dangerous era with a growing number of nuclear-armed states, as 
illustrated by North Korea's nuclear test last year and Iran's refusal 
to halt its uranium enrichment program.
  So today, along with Senator Hagel, I am introducing the Nuclear 
Weapons Threat Reduction Act, which provides for sustained U.S. 
leadership in a global effort to prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce 
global nuclear arsenals, and stop the spread of nuclear weapons around 
the world.
  Securing nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material at their source 
is the most direct and reliable way to prevent nuclear terrorism. 
Thanks to the leadership of Senators Nunn and Lugar in creating the 
Cooperative Threat Reduction program at the Department of Defense, 
there is no question that we have made significant progress in securing 
nuclear stockpiles. But there are still significant quantities of 
weapons-usable nuclear material that remain vulnerable to theft. In the 
civilian sector alone, there are an estimated 60 tons of highly 
enriched uranium, enough to make over 1,000 nuclear bombs, spread out 
at facilities in over 40 countries around the world. Many of these 
facilities do not have adequate physical security, leaving the material 
vulnerable to theft.
  The insecure storage of nuclear stockpiles has already led to an 
alarming number of attempted exchanges of small quantities of dangerous 
nuclear materials. The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, 
confirmed 16 incidents between 1993 and 2005 that involved trafficking 
in relatively small amounts of highly enriched uranium and plutonium. 
That is 16 incidents too many, in my opinion, and 16 incidents that 
should not have been allowed to happen.
  Experts believe that a sophisticated terrorist group could 
potentially construct a crude nuclear bomb if it obtained the necessary 
amount of plutonium or highly enriched uranium. The 9/11 Commission 
concluded that a trained nuclear engineer with an amount of highly 
enriched uranium or plutonium about the size of a grapefruit or an 
orange could make a nuclear device that would level Lower Manhattan. 
Simply put, our ability to secure nuclear stockpiles around the world 
is what stands between the safety of the American people and a 
terrorism incident of almost unimaginable horror.
  It is imperative that we build and lead a truly global effort to 
secure all stockpiles of nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material to 
the highest standards to prevent them from falling into the wrong 
hands. It is also essential that we make preventing nuclear terrorism a 
top presidential priority--with the resources, diplomatic effort and 
funding to match the threat. We need to work with other countries to 
ensure effective and sustainable security of nuclear stockpiles and to 
ensure that the highest priority is placed on security of those weapons 
and materials that pose the greatest risk.
  The Nuclear Weapons Threat Reduction Act requires the President to 
submit to Congress a comprehensive threat reduction plan for ensuring 
that all nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material at vulnerable 
sites are secure by 2012. The plan must clearly designate agency 
responsibility and accountability, specify program goals and metrics 
for measuring progress, and outline estimated schedules and budget 
requirements.

[[Page S10812]]

  To meet this ambitious goal, the bill calls for accelerating U.S. 
programs to secure, consolidate, and reduce stocks of nuclear weapons 
and weapons-usable material, including highly enriched uranium at 
civilian nuclear facilities worldwide. Additional funding is authorized 
for the Department of Energy's Global Threat Reduction Initiative, an 
important program that secures and removes high-risk nuclear materials 
from vulnerable locations around the world.
  The bill calls for the United States to work cooperatively with other 
countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, to develop 
and implement a comprehensive set of standards and best practices to 
provide effective physical protection and accounting for all stockpiles 
of nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material.
  The bill also authorizes additional funding to improve our ability to 
trace the origin of nuclear material that might be transferred or used 
in a terrorist attack so that responsible parties can be held 
accountable.
  Given the nature of the threat we face from nuclear terrorism, we 
can't succeed if we act alone. Indeed, the danger of nuclear 
proliferation and nuclear terrorism reminds us of how critical global 
cooperation will be to U.S. security in the 21st century. America must 
lead in rebuilding the alliances and partnerships necessary to meet 
common challenges and confront common threats. And this legislation 
seeks to provide the tools to do just that.
  While nuclear terrorism remains a dire threat to our security, it is 
only one part of the overall threat posed by nuclear weapons. The 
Nuclear Weapons Threat Reduction Act also addresses the need to reduce 
global arsenals and prevent the emergence of additional nuclear-armed 
nations. In all too many respects, the essential bargain that stands at 
the core of the nuclear nonproliferation regime is unraveling. 
Countries like North Korea and Iran are demonstrating that nuclear 
technology acquired for ostensibly civilian purposes can provide the 
basis for producing nuclear weapons. At the same time, established 
nuclear powers retain large arsenals and are reemphasizing the 
importance of nuclear weapons to their security.
  At the end of the Cold War, many had hoped and believed that the 
world was moving in the right direction to reduce the threat of nuclear 
weapons. America and Russia agreed to significant reductions in their 
massive nuclear arsenals. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine were 
persuaded to give up their post-Soviet nuclear arsenals. The U.S.-
Russian Cooperative Threat Reduction or Nunn-Lugar program was 
established. In 1994, North Korea agreed to halt its plutonium 
production program. And in 1995, over 180 nations agreed to take 
further steps to strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, NPT, 
and agreed to extend the treaty indefinitely.
  In the last 6 years, however, these positive trends have stalled--and 
in some cases regressed. While promising to leave the Cold War behind, 
President Bush abandoned the very policies his successors had pursued 
to bring the Cold War weapons competition to a peaceful and successful 
end. He unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the Anti-Ballistic Missile 
Treaty. He refused to support ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive 
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He opted for an arms reduction agreement with 
Russia in 2002 that does not include new verification provisions, does 
not require the dismantling of warheads or missiles, and allows each 
side to stockpile thousands of nondeployed weapons. And after ignoring 
the findings of U.N. weapons inspectors on the ground and launching a 
preemptive war against Iraq, President Bush lost much of the 
international goodwill that is required to mobilize global support to 
strengthen the beleaguered nuclear nonproliferation regime.
  The Nuclear Weapons Threat Reduction Act calls for a balanced and 
comprehensive set of initiatives that would strengthen the global 
nonproliferation regime. The bill authorizes $50 million to support the 
creation of a low enriched uranium reserve administered by the IAEA 
that would help guarantee the availability of fuel for commercial 
nuclear reactors. This international fuel bank can play an important 
role in dissuading countries from building their own uranium enrichment 
facilities. Additional funding is also authorized for the IAEA's 
Department of Safeguards to improve its ability to conduct effective 
inspections.
  To win the struggle against nuclear proliferation, we must also have 
the courage to lead by example. The bill calls for talks with Russia to 
reduce the number of nonstrategic nuclear weapons and further reduce 
the number of strategic nuclear weapons in Russian and U.S stockpiles 
in a transparent and verifiable fashion, and in a manner consistent 
with the security of the United States. It also calls for considering 
changes in the alert status of U.S. and Russian forces to reduce the 
risk of an accidental, unauthorized, or mistaken launch of nuclear 
weapons.
  Other initiatives called for in the bill include reaffirming support 
for and strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, taking 
steps to reconsider and ratify a global ban on nuclear testing, 
pursuing a long-overdue global agreement to verifiably halt the 
production of fissile material for weapons, and fully implementing the 
Lugar-Obama initiative that strengthens the ability of friendly foreign 
countries to stop the transfer of weapons of mass destruction and 
related material.
  With a bold, comprehensive approach and strong U.S. leadership, we 
can--and must--make significant strides in reducing the threat posed by 
nuclear weapons. America must lead the way again by marshalling a 
global effort to meet the challenge that rises above all others in 
urgency securing, destroying, and stopping the spread of weapons of 
mass destruction. This bill, I believe, makes a significant 
contribution toward that goal, and I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
                                 ______