[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 18, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5909-H5911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1445
 CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ENTRY INTO FORCE OF TREATY ON THE 
                  NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 825) celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 
entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
Weapons (NPT), recognizing the importance of the NPT's continued 
contributions to United States and international security, and 
commemorating United States leadership in strengthening the nuclear 
nonproliferation regime since the dawn of the nuclear era, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 825

       Whereas on December 4, 1961, the United Nations General 
     Assembly unanimously approved a resolution supporting an 
     international agreement to prevent the proliferation of 
     nuclear weapons;
       Whereas the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons has been a 
     bedrock principle of United States foreign policy since 1945;
       Whereas the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis nearly led 
     the United States and the former Soviet Union to a 
     catastrophic nuclear exchange;
       Whereas the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis led to a 
     series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to reduce the 
     chances of nuclear war and prevent the spread of nuclear 
     weapons;
       Whereas on August 17, 1965, the United States submitted its 
     first draft of such a treaty to the Eighteen Nation 
     Disarmament Committee;
       Whereas in May 1966, the Senate adopted S. Res. 179 
     supporting the President's efforts to negotiate such a 
     treaty;
       Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, and the 
     Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed the Treaty on the 
     Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on its first day 
     of opening for signature on July 1, 1968;
       Whereas the Senate gave its advice and consent to 
     ratification of the NPT on March 13, 1969, by a vote of 83 to 
     15;
       Whereas the NPT entered into force on March 5, 1970, the 
     date it was ratified by the United States and the Soviet 
     Union;
       Whereas the NPT provides stability that is critical for 
     United States and international security, and its success has 
     and will continue to depend upon the full implementation by 
     all State Parties of the NPT's three mutually-reinforcing 
     pillars: nonproliferation, access to peaceful uses of nuclear 
     energy, and disarmament;
       Whereas United States leadership has been and will continue 
     to be indispensable to the development and success of the 
     global nuclear nonproliferation regime;
       Whereas on May 11, 1995, the NPT was extended indefinitely;
       Whereas North Korea is the only non-nuclear weapon state 
     that was a party to the NPT before acquiring nuclear weapons;
       Whereas the United States has supported the NPT's 
     disarmament goals by negotiating bilateral arms control 
     agreements and achieving dramatic reductions in its own and 
     other states' nuclear weapons stockpiles through these 
     treaties, including the 1972 SALT I Treaty, the 1987 INF 
     Treaty, the 1991 START I Treaty, the 2002 Moscow Treaty, and 
     the 2010 New START treaty;
       Whereas the United States has promoted the NPT's 
     nonproliferation pillar by supporting states that 
     relinquished their nuclear weapons and acceded to the NPT, 
     such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and South Africa;
       Whereas the United States has worked to ensure the peaceful 
     uses of nuclear energy by supporting the International Atomic 
     Energy Agency and its safeguards programs, including the 
     Additional Protocol;
       Whereas the 2018 Department of Defense Nuclear Posture 
     Review affirms, ``The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) 
     is a cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation 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 on June 28, 2018, the United States, United 
     Kingdom, and Russian governments released a joint statement, 
     reaffirming their commitment to work toward ``the ultimate 
     goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons, as set forth in 
     the NPT''; and
       Whereas Congress has long been a leading voice for 
     nonproliferation, including through the Export-Import Bank 
     Act of 1945, the McMahon Act of 1946, the Atomic Energy Act 
     of 1954, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978, the 
     Export Administration Act of 1979, the Nunn-Lugar Soviet 
     Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991, the Nuclear 
     Nonproliferation Prevention Act of 1994, and other 
     legislative efforts: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) calls for continued support for the Treaty on the Non-
     Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to prevent the spread 
     of nuclear weapons, to further reduce the number of nuclear 
     weapons, and to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy as 
     it has over the past 50 years;
       (2) reaffirms that a strong nonproliferation regime is in 
     the United States interest;
       (3) recognizes that the United States, through its network 
     of alliances, has led the world upholding the pillars of the 
     NPT and continues to work together to strengthen the NPT; and
       (4) urges the United States to continue to be a leader in 
     supporting the NPT and the global nonproliferation regime, 
     by--
       (A) continuing to encourage all States Party to the NPT to 
     comply fully with the NPT;
       (B) maintaining support for the International Atomic Energy 
     Agency through its assessed and voluntary contributions and 
     promote the universal adoption of the IAEA Additional 
     Protocol;
       (C) continuing to encourage opportunities for cooperation 
     with other nuclear weapons states to reduce the number and 
     role of nuclear weapons;
       (D) encouraging universality of the NPT and the Additional 
     Protocol;
       (E) discouraging the unlawful spread of uranium enrichment 
     technologies and ensuring such technologies covered under the 
     NPT are properly verified;
       (F) developing policies to prevent withdrawal of additional 
     states parties from the Treaty;
       (G) maintaining global moratoria on nuclear explosive 
     testing, which is in the national security interest of the 
     United States; and
       (H) working towards a successful 2021 NPT Review 
     Conference.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Espaillat) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H. Res. 825.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I would 
like to thank the author, Congressman Sherman, for his hard work and 
leadership.
  Arms control and nonproliferation have been bipartisan pillars of 
United States security since the earliest days of the Cold War. After a 
half a century of successfully contributing to the nonproliferation and 
reduction of nuclear weapons, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
Nuclear Weapons continues to bolster the United States national 
security and global stability.
  This important resolution recognizes the importance of the NPT and 
calls for continued U.S. leadership in global

[[Page H5910]]

nonproliferation efforts and the further reduction in the number of 
nuclear weapons. The current administration has undercut and 
disregarded our important arms control regimes, and I hope that 
President-elect Biden will immediately change our course after he is 
sworn in.
  With this measure, the House is going on record to support a return 
to the leadership and policies that helped make the world safer for 
decades. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution marking the 
50th anniversary of entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
  I want to thank our distinguished colleagues, Mr. Sherman and Mr. 
Banks, and some of the other cosponsors. Mr. Sherman took the lead on 
it, and I thank him for that, in marking this important anniversary.
  For the last 50 years, the NPT Treaty, Non-Proliferation Treaty, has 
been the bedrock upon which nonproliferation policy has been built. 
More than 185 countries around the world have ratified the treaty, 
adding their support to the responsible use of nuclear technology, 
while reducing the likelihood of nuclear conflict.
  Every country has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful 
purposes; however, we must ensure that the number of states armed with 
nuclear weapons does not grow. The proliferation of these weapons in 
unstable, dangerous regimes like North Korea and Iran only makes the 
world more dangerous and the use of those weapons of mass destruction 
more likely.
  Under the treaty, nuclear weapons states agree not to transfer 
nuclear weapons or technology to nonnuclear weapons states. States 
without nuclear weapons are bound to accept IAEA safeguards in order to 
verify any and all nuclear activities are peaceful.
  The treaty also requires all countries to pursue good faith 
negotiations related to nuclear disarmament. There may be disagreement 
on how to achieve such disarmament, but in the meantime, the U.S. 
remains committed to continuing to reduce risk and enhance global 
stability through maintaining a modern, safe, and secure nuclear 
deterrent and reaffirming our defense commitment to our allies. We seek 
to engage countries like China, which is growing its nuclear arsenal, 
and Russia, which is developing new nuclear armed weapons systems, on 
enhanced arms control regimes.
  Finally, the United States continues to seek to prevent the spread of 
nuclear weapons to rogue states.
  Again, I want to thank my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Sherman), for sponsoring this bill, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Sherman), the author of this important resolution and 
an esteemed member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of H. Res. 825, which I 
authored, to focus our attention on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation 
Treaty.
  If you look back to 1945 when nuclear weapons literally exploded upon 
the world, most political scientists believed that within the next 
century after 1945 we would have had dozens of nuclear states and many 
nuclear wars. Well, so far, we have gone the vast bulk of a century 
since 1945 and we have not seen nuclear weapons used in anger. An 
important part of that is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
  There is no more important work for our committee than preventing the 
spread of nuclear weapons. That is why, for well over a decade, I have 
chaired or been ranking member on the subcommittee that focuses on 
nonproliferation. It is simple math. The more nuclear states, the more 
likelihood of a nuclear war.
  This resolution reaffirms the strong nonproliferation regime that is 
in the interest of the United States and supports the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty. It urges the United States to continue to support 
the NPT regime and global nonproliferation and looks forward to a 
successful 2021 NPT Review Conference.
  I look forward to working with the new administration on 
nonproliferation issues.
  Every nation in the last 50 years that has developed a nuclear weapon 
has done so under the pretense that they were developing a nuclear 
energy program. That is why we have to be very careful when we enter 
into nuclear cooperation agreements with countries that may seek to 
develop a nuclear weapon.
  The best way to make sure that a nuclear energy program is not a 
nuclear weapons program is to make sure that the country that engages 
in that signs the additional protocol to allow the additional 
inspections of the IAEA. That is why what is important today--not only 
this resolution--is the conference committee that I sit on for the 
NDAA, which contains the provision that I wrote and introduced to this 
House as the Saudi Nuclear Nonproliferation Act, to say that we will 
not enter into agreements for nuclear cooperation with countries that 
refuse to sign the additional protocol.
  As we look forward to a new administration, we need to reenter the 
JCPOA with Iran and make sure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. We 
have to prevent Saudi Arabia from developing a nuclear weapon, and we 
have to roll back the North Korean program. There is much for us to do 
in nonproliferation, and there is no work that is more important for 
our committee.
  Since I have some additional time, I would like to use it to express 
my views on the other important legislation that the Foreign Affairs 
Committee is bringing to this House today.
  The first is the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation 
Reauthorization Act of 2020, introduced by Mr. Chabot, for which I 
serve as the lead Democrat. This is an important debt-for-nature 
program critical to preserve tropical forests and coral reefs.
  Chairman Bera has introduced the Securing America From Epidemics Act. 
This bill recognizes the importance of working cooperatively--and I 
look forward to us rejoining the WHO--working cooperatively to deal 
with epidemics. And, of course, these provisions were part of the 
Heroes Act, which this Congress passed back in May. It authorizes the 
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, an alliance of 
countries that are partners to finance and coordinate the development 
of vaccines for high-priority epidemic threats.
  I want to commend the gentleman from New York for his Caribbean Basin 
Security Initiative Authorization Act to promote safety, security, and 
the rule of law in the Caribbean. It is so important that we achieve 
improvement for the lives of those who are our immediate neighbors. 
This important bill would fund support for the justice sector and 
education for at-risk youth.
  I want to commend Representative  Tom Suozzi for his resolution on 
the importance of the United States' alliance with the Republic of 
Korea and the contribution of Korean Americans. Just yesterday, I had a 
chance to meet with the chair and several of the members of the Korean 
National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and I 
look forward to a new administration reaching a different kind of 
relationship with North Korea and a stronger relationship with South 
Korea.
  I commend Chairman McGovern for his resolution condemning the 
poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and calling for 
the United States to coordinate a robust international response.
  I think our committee is bringing to the floor of this House a 
package of important legislation. I look forward to it passing 
overwhelmingly.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank Congressman 
Sherman for his hard work on this measure. I am very pleased to support 
this measure, I urge all Members to do the same, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 825, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``A resolution 
urging the United States to continue

[[Page H5911]]

to be a leader in supporting the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of 
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the global nonproliferation regime to reap 
the benefits the NPT and such regime bring to United States and 
international security.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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