[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
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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
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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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