[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 39 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 39
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) continues to make an invaluable
contribution to United States and international security, and noting
former Senator Richard G. Lugar's indispensable contributions to
international security and reducing nuclear weapons-related risks.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 15, 2019
Mr. Sherman (for himself, Mr. Banks, Mr. Foster, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr.
Lujan, and Mr. Fleischmann) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) continues to make an invaluable
contribution to United States and international security, and noting
former Senator Richard G. Lugar's indispensable contributions to
international security and reducing nuclear weapons-related risks.
Whereas the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) opened for
signature 50 years ago on July 1, 1968;
Whereas the United States and the former Soviet Union averted a catastrophic
nuclear exchange during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which led
to a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to lessen the
chance of nuclear war, including the NPT;
Whereas President John F. Kennedy predicted in 1963 that as many as 25 countries
would acquire nuclear weapons by 1970 absent a treaty to control nuclear
weapons;
Whereas the United States Senate provided its advice and consent to the NPT on
March 13, 1969, with a vote on ratification of 83 to 15;
Whereas the NPT has grown to include 191 State Parties, making an irreplaceable
contribution to international security by preventing the spread of
nuclear weapons;
Whereas former Senator Richard G. Lugar made indispensable contributions to
reducing nuclear weapon risks, most notably through his leadership in
standing up the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (commonly referred
to as the ``Nunn-Lugar Program''), which eliminated 7,600 nuclear
weapons in the former Soviet Union;
Whereas Senator Lugar successfully secured the advice and consent of the Senate
to the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian
Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of
Strategic Offensive Arms, signed at Prague April 8, 2010, and entered
into force February 5, 2011 (commonly known as the ``New START
Treaty'');
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 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 State Parties of the Treaty's three mutually
reinforcing pillars: nonproliferation, access to peaceful uses of
nuclear energy, and disarmament;
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 more than 85 percent from
its Cold War heights of 31,225 in parallel with equally massive reductions
of the Russian Federation's stockpile through bilateral coordination;
(2) cooperating with Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus to facilitate the
surrender of nuclear weapons on their soil after the fall of the Soviet
Union--leading to each country's accession to the NPT as nonnuclear weapons
states;
(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
(4) extending deterrence to United States allies in the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), Japan, and the Republic of Korea--which is an
unmistakable demonstration of the United States commitment to collective
security;
Whereas heightened geopolitical tensions in recent years have made cooperation
on nonproliferation and arms control issues with the Russian Federation
more challenging;
Whereas a range of actions by the Government of the Russian Federation has led
to a deterioration in bilateral relations with the United States,
including Russia's brazen interference in the 2016 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
(commonly known as the ``INF Treaty''), signed at Washington, DC,
December 8, 1987, and entered into force June 1, 1988, its use of a
chemical nerve agent in an assassination attempt against Sergei Skripal
and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom in March 2018, its illegal
annexation of Crimea, its invasion of Eastern Ukraine, and its
destabilizing actions in Syria;
Whereas, within a difficult environment, preserving agreements that continue to
contribute to United States and global security, particularly the New
START Treaty, is important, and that to that end, the Department of
State confirmed in February 2018 that Russia had met New START's Central
Treaty Limits and stated that ``implementation of the New START Treaty
enhances the safety and security of the United States'';
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, in a March 2018 speech, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian
Federation unveiled details of new kinds of strategic nuclear weapons
under development, including hypersonic nuclear weapons, nuclear-powered
ballistic missiles, and multi-megaton nuclear torpedoes shot from drone
submarines that may be accountable under the New START Treaty;
Whereas the Russian Federation erroneously claimed that the United States may
have not reached New START Treaty central limits by February 5, 2018, as
is mandated by the Treaty;
Whereas the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) is the appropriate forum for
the Parties to engage constructively on any New START Treaty
implementation issues that arise; and
Whereas the collapse of the INF Treaty and expiration of the New START Treaty
would lead to the absence of any binding, bilateral treaty or agreement
governing United States and Russian nuclear forces, which account for 90
percent of those currently in existence globally, for the first time
since 1972: Now, therefore be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This concurrent resolution may be cited as the ``Richard Lugar
Nonproliferation and Arms Control Legacy Resolution''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States should continue to encourage all
States Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) to comply fully with the Treaty;
(2) the United States should maintain support for the IAEA
through its assessed and voluntary contributions and promote
the universal adoption of the IAEA Additional Protocol;
(3) the United States should--
(A) consider extending the New START Treaty, within
the context of wider enhancement of strategic stability
between the United States and the Russian Federation
and provided the Treaty continues to advance United
States national security;
(B) assess whether Russia's recently announced
nuclear capabilities should be accountable under the
New START Treaty, and raise the issue directly with the
Russian Federation;
(C) conclude an interagency process to consider an
extension of the New START Treaty and to engage with
the Russian Federation on the full range of strategic
stability issues and other arms control and
nonproliferation issues;
(D) begin negotiations with the Russian Federation
on an agreement to address the massive disparity
between the nonstrategic nuclear weapons stockpiles of
the Russian Federation and of the United States and to
secure and reduce nonstrategic nuclear weapons in a
verifiable manner; and
(E) consider the consequences of the New START
Treaty's expiration in 2021 in relation to the insights
it provides into the location, movement, and
disposition of current and future Russian strategic
systems;
(4) the United States strongly condemns the Russian
Federation's violations of the INF Treaty and its noncompliance
with its other arms control commitments and treaty obligations,
and urges the Russian Federation to come back into full
compliance;
(5) in responding to the Russian Federation's deployment of
INF-range systems, advocate for those defense and deterrence
steps which preserve NATO alliance cohesion and are aimed at
averting an arms race on the European continent;
(6) pursuit of a verifiable and comprehensive arms control
agreement with the Russian Federation and the People's Republic
of China, which may capture strategic and nonstrategic nuclear
weapons capabilities, would enhance United States and global
security by building upon other treaties, agreements, and
transparency measures that reduce nuclear risk; and
(7) the United States should continue to encourage
opportunities for cooperation with other nuclear possessing
states to reduce the salience, number, and role of nuclear
weapons in their national military strategies.
<all>