[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 73 (Tuesday, May 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2280-S2281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 611--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT THE TREATY 
ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS (NPT) CONTINUES TO MAKE AN 
    INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED STATES AND INTERNATIONAL 
SECURITY, AND RECOGNIZING THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL SEEK A SUCCESSFUL 
    NINTH REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE TREATY ON THE NON-
                    PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

  Mr. MENENDEZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 611

       Whereas the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
     Weapons (NPT) opened for signature 53 years ago on July 1, 
     1968, and entered into force in 1970;
       Whereas the NPT is a cornerstone of the global nuclear 
     nonproliferation regime and has grown to include 191 States 
     Parties;
       Whereas the United States remains committed to upholding 
     the three pillars of the NPT, which include--
       (1) non-proliferation;
       (2) disarmament; and
       (3) the peaceful use of nuclear energy;
       Whereas Article III of the NPT obligates each nonnuclear 
     weapon state to the NPT to conclude a Safeguards Agreement 
     with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify 
     treaty compliance, 174 of which are Comprehensive Safeguards 
     Agreements crafted to detect the diversion of nuclear 
     materials from peaceful to non-peaceful uses;
       Whereas the IAEA strengthens the global nuclear and 
     security framework and helps promote international nuclear 
     cooperation, and IAEA safeguards are a requirement for United 
     States bilateral nuclear cooperation;
       Whereas the United States was the first country to conclude 
     a safeguards agreement with the IAEA;
       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 the success of the NPT has and will continue to 
     depend upon the full implementation by all States Parties of 
     the NPT's three mutually reinforcing pillars;
       Whereas, over the past half century, the United States has 
     exhibited leadership in strengthening each of the NPT's three 
     pillars for the global good, including--
       (1) reducing its nuclear weapons stockpile by 88 percent 
     from its maximum in 1967 of 31,225 in parallel with equally 
     massive reductions of the Russian Federation's stockpile 
     through bilateral coordination;
       (2) cooperating with former Soviet states to facilitate the 
     surrender of nuclear weapons on their soil after the fall of 
     the Soviet Union;
       (3) providing voluntary contributions to the IAEA to 
     promote peaceful nuclear activities exceeding $378,000,000 
     since 2010, including activities that help in the treatment 
     of cancer and other life-saving applications; and

[[Page S2281]]

       (4) extending deterrence to United States allies in the 
     North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Japan, the 
     Republic of Korea, and Australia, which is an unmistakable 
     demonstration of the United States commitment to collective 
     security;
       Whereas the United States calls on the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran to comply with its obligations under the NPT, which it 
     ratified in 1970, abide by its 1974 comprehensive safeguards 
     agreement with the IAEA, and fully and permanently implement 
     the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement in 
     refraining to obtain or produce nuclear weapons;
       Whereas heightened geopolitical tensions in recent years 
     have made cooperation on nonproliferation and arms control 
     issues with the Russian Federation and the People's Republic 
     of China more challenging;
       Whereas recent harmful actions by the Government of the 
     Russian Federation have led to a further a deterioration in 
     bilateral relations with the United States, including 
     Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea, its 2014 invasion of 
     Eastern Ukraine, and its 2022 invasion into all of Ukraine, 
     its brazen interference in the 2016 and 2020 United States 
     presidential elections, its violation of the Treaty between 
     the United States of America and the Union of Soviet 
     Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-
     Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, signed at Washington 
     December 8, 1987, and entered into force June 1, 1988 
     (commonly referred to as the ``INF Treaty''), its use of 
     chemical nerve agents in assassination attempts in the United 
     Kingdom and against Aleksei A. Navalny, and its destabilizing 
     actions in Syria;
       Whereas concerning actions by the People's Republic of 
     China have also strained bilateral relations with the United 
     States, including a sustained build-up of nuclear forces, 
     threatening military activities toward Taiwan, and the 
     transfer by Chinese entities of proliferation and missile 
     technology transfers to states such as the Islamic Republic 
     of Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Pakistan;
       Whereas, despite these challenges, the United States 
     remains committed to a stable strategic relationship with the 
     Governments of the Russian Federation and the People's 
     Republic of China and especially in the field of 
     nonproliferation and arms control;
       Whereas United States efforts to reduce dangers associated 
     with nuclear arsenals through ambitious arms control 
     agreements with both the Russian Federation and the People's 
     Republic of China would advance United States and global 
     security, adding to the benefits of stability and 
     transparency provided by existing agreements;
       Whereas President Joseph R. Biden's decision to extend the 
     New START Treaty between the United States and the Russian 
     Federation for five years places verifiable legally-binding 
     limits on Russian ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers until 
     February 5, 2026;
       Whereas the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) 
     continues to be the appropriate forum for the Parties to 
     engage constructively on any New START Treaty implementation 
     issues that arise;
       Whereas the Ninth Review Conference of the States Parties 
     to the NPT will take place in August of 2022 in New York, 
     having been rescheduled due to restrictions brought on by the 
     COVID-19 pandemic; and
       Whereas the Ninth Review Conference presents an opportunity 
     to refocus States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-
     Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on the danger that the 
     spread of nuclear weapons poses, to discuss potential ways to 
     deal with countries that continue to pose a nuclear security 
     threat, and to find common solutions so as to further reduce 
     the number of nuclear weapons in the world and enable 
     increased use of nuclear energy while improving safeguards to 
     ensure that illicit nuclear programs are not occurring: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the United States should continue to encourage all 
     States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
     Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to comply fully with the terms and the 
     spirit of the Treaty;
       (2) the United States should--
       (A) maintain support for the IAEA through its assessed and 
     voluntary contributions and seek to pay its dues at the 
     beginning of the IAEA's fiscal year and through advocating 
     for all countries to enter into the Additional Protocols with 
     the IAEA;
       (B) pursue a verifiable and comprehensive arms control 
     agreement with the Russian Federation and the People's 
     Republic of China to capture strategic and nonstrategic 
     nuclear weapons capabilities, which would enhance United 
     States and global security by building upon other treaties, 
     agreements, and transparency measures that reduce nuclear 
     risk;
       (C) continue to encourage opportunities with other nuclear 
     weapon-possessing states to reduce the reliance upon, role, 
     and number of nuclear weapons in their national military 
     strategies; and
       (D) advance critical United States security partnerships 
     like the one among Australia, the United Kingdom, and the 
     United States (commonly known as ``AUKUS'') consistent with 
     IAEA safeguards, to provide Australia with naval nuclear 
     propulsion technology to better deter against military 
     aggression in the Indo-Pacific; and
       (3) the President is encouraged to work with other States 
     Parties to the NPT to strengthen compliance and enforcement 
     mechanisms and develop collective responses in the United 
     Nations Security Council and in any other relevant 
     multilateral fora to any notification of withdrawal from the 
     Treaty.

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