[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 195 (Wednesday, November 19, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4779-H4780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                       NUCLEAR TESTING OPPOSITION

  (Ms. Titus of Nevada was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my opposition to 
President Trump's announcement that the United States will resume 
explosive nuclear testing.
  Nevada was the focal point of nuclear development during the Cold 
War. Over four decades, the Nevada Test Site, which is located just 100 
miles north of Las Vegas, hosted over 900 nuclear

[[Page H4780]]

tests, more than any other place in the country. Throughout the 1950s, 
visible mushroom clouds often rose over the desert and could be seen in 
the distance by people who came to enjoy all Las Vegas had to offer.
  These tests were conducted to better understand the powers and 
effects of nuclear weapons, and the site played a major role in shaping 
national and international policies involving nuclear testing and 
nonproliferation.
  The radiation, however, given off by the more than 100 atmospheric 
tests had devastating impacts on those downwind. The fallout caused 
cancer and premature deaths for thousands across the Southwest. That is 
why earlier this year, I introduced the PRESUME Act, which would ensure 
that radiation-exposed veterans who had been exposed to this radiation 
would receive their rightful benefits from the VA.
  In addition, the 800 underground tests sometimes vented, letting out 
radioactive contaminants into the air and the groundwater supply. These 
are problems we are still dealing with today. Radioactivity levels in 
the water are declining over time, but elements such as plutonium and 
uranium are likely to pose risks for thousands of years.
  You may remember in 2020, the first Trump administration called for a 
resumption of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. This was in 
breach of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Back then, in 
response to that, I led the charge to the FY21 NDAA process to ensure 
that nuclear testing would not be resurrected in the U.S., but ``the 
more things change, the more they stay the same''; ``plus ca change, 
plus c'est la meme chose.''
  On October 29, just this year, Trump announced that he is directing 
the Department of Defense to resume nuclear testing in a disastrous but 
not surprising policy reversal. This is because it is mentioned in 
Project 2025.
  On page 399 of Project 2025, which is the blueprint for the Trump 
administration, you see a call for the rejection of the Comprehensive 
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. This would not only allow nuclear testing here 
at home but will give the green light to countries around the world to 
resume and do the same.
  The result would put us on a collision course of catastrophic 
proportions with Russia and China. It would undermine the entire arms 
control regime, and it would allow proliferation of these weapons into 
nonnuclear states. At the same time, it would, again, put the health of 
Nevadans in jeopardy.
  In fact, we have already seen that Putin has directed his forces to 
prepare to resume nuclear testing. Just this week, The Washington Post 
reported that China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its 
infrastructure at the nuclear testing site in Xinjiang province.
  There is no technical, national security, or political reason for the 
U.S. to resume nuclear testing. At the test site, we already do 
groundbreaking experiments and simulations with our existing stockpile 
to make sure our arsenal is safe, secure, and reliable. All this is 
done without any explosion. It is a scientific experiment called 
subcritical and is far more helpful to understanding how the weapon 
will perform than setting off an explosion in the desert.
  Our leadership on arms control and nonproliferation has clearly come 
to an end, and the world is becoming a more dangerous place. Note: For 
the first time ever, the U.S. was the only country to vote ``no'' on a 
recent U.N. resolution supporting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban 
Treaty. You know, not even North Korea voted ``no'' on this provision, 
so what kind of signal does that send?
  Amidst all this nuclear testing saber-rattling, the New START Treaty, 
which is the only remaining arms control agreement between the U.S. and 
Russia, is set to expire in just 77 days.
  For these reasons, I have introduced the Renewing Efforts to Suspend 
Testing and Reinforce Arms Control Initiative Now, the RESTRAIN Act. 
This would prohibit the resumption of nuclear testing. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this and getting this passed before 
we begin another arms race.

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