IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 74

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding maintenance of the nuclear

weapons stockpile.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 24, 1999

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms.

ESHOO, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. LEE, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY of New

York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PAYNE,

Mr. TIERNEY, and Ms. WOOLSEY) submitted the following concurrent

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding maintenance

of the nuclear weapons stockpile.

Whereas it is in the best interests of the Nation and the

world to ban nuclear explosive tests forever and to promote nuclear disarmament;

Whereas the priority of nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship should be the safety of the existing arsenal, and

there is no need to design or develop new nuclear weapons or to modify the nuclear explosive package in existing

weapons;

Whereas the United States has conducted more than 1000

explosive tests of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and the
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stockpile can be maintained reliably without further nuclear explosive testing;

Whereas an ongoing stockpile evaluation and maintenance

program has ensured the safety and reliability of the arsenal for decades, and the Secretaries of Energy and Defense again certified its safety and reliability on December 11, 1998;

Whereas the new stockpile stewardship and management program, funded at $4,500,000,000 annually over ten years,

is not needed to maintain the arsenal, and many of its

programs and facilities are unnecessary and hence a

waste of taxpayer dollars;

Whereas the Department of Energy and the nuclear weapons

laboratories intend to use the stockpile stewardship program to maintain and significantly enhance scientific and

technical capabilities for undertaking ‘‘development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons’’ (as stated in the

United States Department of Energy Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, 1996);

Whereas maintaining and enhancing capabilities for nuclear

weapon design and development is provocative to other

nuclear-weapon states and to non-nuclear-weapon states,

and runs counter to the obligations of the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ‘‘to pursue negotiations in good faith on ... cessation of the nuclear arms

race at an early date and ... nuclear disarmament,’’ and

counter to the purposes of the Comprehensive Test Ban

Treaty, which include ‘‘constraining the development of

advanced new types of nuclear weapons’’; and

Whereas there are less costly and more appropriate alternatives that can maintain the United States nuclear
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weapons stockpile while complying with the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban

Treaty: Now, therefore be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) the priority of the nuclear weapons stockpile

4 stewardship program should be the safety and secu5 rity of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile, the

6 program should also maintain sufficient weapon reli7 ability to ensure the arsenal’s deterrent effect, and

8 the program should not attempt to develop new nu9 clear weapons;

10 (2) the nuclear weapons stockpile can be main11 tained with a program that is far smaller than the

12 current program, is less expensive, and does not re13 quire facilities or experiments that are likely to be

14 used for warhead design or development; and

15 (3) the Secretary of Energy should redirect the

16 Department of Energy program for custodianship of

17 the nuclear weapons arsenal toward less costly, less

18 provocative methods that are consistent with United

19 States treaty obligations.

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