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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 905 Introduced in House (IH)]

109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 905

Congratulating Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the 
world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk region of 
 Kazakhstan and for its efforts on the nonproliferation of weapons of 
                           mass destruction.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2006

   Mr. Faleomavaega (for himself, Mr. Lantos, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
Ackerman, Ms. Bordallo, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Berman, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. 
Crowley, Mr. Engel, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Issa, 
Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. King 
 of Iowa, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Melancon, Mr. Pitts, 
Mr. Saxton, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Towns, Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, and Mr. 
 Wexler) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Congratulating Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the 
world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk region of 
 Kazakhstan and for its efforts on the nonproliferation of weapons of 
                           mass destruction.

Whereas on August 29, 1991, the Government of Kazakhstan shut down the world's 
        second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk region of the 
        Republic of Kazakhstan;
Whereas between 1945 and 1991, more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted at 
        this site, exposing more than 1.5 million innocent people to radiation 
        and causing damage to the environment;
Whereas the damage to the environment and to the health of the people of 
        Kazakhstan from this terrible legacy of hundreds of detonations of 
        Soviet nuclear explosive devices could be felt for decades to come;
Whereas upon gaining independence, Kazakhstan inherited from the former Soviet 
        Union more than 1,000 nuclear warheads, as well as a squadron of 40 TU-
        95 heavy bombers armed with 370 nuclear warheads, comprising the world's 
        fourth largest nuclear arsenal;
Whereas Kazakhstan renounced this massive nuclear arsenal, unilaterally 
        disarmed, and joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
        Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapon state, the first time a state that 
        had possessed such a massive nuclear arsenal had done so;
Whereas Kazakhstan's leadership and cooperation with the United States on 
        nonproliferation matters is a model for other countries to follow;
Whereas Kazakhstan also inherited from the former Soviet Union the world's 
        largest anthrax production and weaponization facility, which had a 
        capacity to produce more than 300 metric tons of anthrax per year;
Whereas Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the United States Cooperative Threat 
        Reduction (CTR) program, dismantled the military-related buildings and 
        equipment associated with the anthrax production and weaponization 
        facility;
Whereas the Government of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the United States, 
        participated in a very successful secret operation code-named ``Project 
        Sapphire,'' in which 581 kilograms (1,278 pounds) of weapons-grade 
        highly enriched uranium, enough to produce 20 to 25 nuclear warheads, 
        were removed overnight from Kazakhstan;
Whereas in December 2004 and May 2006, Kazakhstan and the United States 
        concluded amendments to a bilateral agreement on the nonproliferation of 
        weapons of mass destruction, which have moved the two countries toward a 
        new level of cooperation in preventing the threat of bio-terrorism; and
Whereas in February 2006, Kazakhstan and the Nuclear Threat Initiative of 
        Washington, D.C., with the support of the United States Department of 
        Energy, blended down 2,900 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of weapons-usable 
        highly enriched uranium, enough to produce up to 25 nuclear warheads, 
        converting the material for peaceful use and preventing it from falling 
        into the hands of terrorist organizations and being used in weapons 
        production: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
            (1) congratulates the people and Government of the Republic 
        of Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the 
        world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk 
        region of Kazakhstan;
            (2) commends Kazakhstan for greatly advancing the cause of 
        the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a result 
        of its dismantlement of its nuclear and biological weapons and 
        facilities; and
            (3) calls upon the Administration to establish a joint 
        working group with the Government of Kazakhstan to assist in 
        assessing the environmental damage and health effects caused by 
        nuclear testing in the Semipalatinsk region by the former 
        Soviet Union.
                                 <all>
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