II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1186 

To restrict the first-use strike of nuclear weapons. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2023 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. 

VAN HOLLEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To restrict the first-use strike of nuclear weapons. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restricting First Use 

5 of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Constitution gives Congress the sole 

9 power to declare war. 

10 (2) The framers of the Constitution understood 

11 that the monumental decision to go to war, which 


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1 can result in massive death and the destruction of 

2 civilized society, must be made by the representa3 tives of the people and not by a single person. 

4 (3) As stated by section 2(c) of the War Powers 

5 Resolution (Public Law 93–148; 50 U.S.C. 1541), 

6 ‘‘the constitutional powers of the President as Com7 mander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed 

8 Forces into hostilities, or into situations where im9 minent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated 

10 by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to 

11 (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory au12 thorization, or (3) a national emergency created by 

13 attack upon the United States, its territories or pos14 sessions, or its armed forces’’. 

15 (4) Nuclear weapons are uniquely powerful 

16 weapons that have the capability to instantly kill 

17 millions of people, create long-term health and envi18 ronmental consequences throughout the world, di19 rectly undermine global peace, and put the United 

20 States at existential risk from retaliatory nuclear 

21 strikes. 

22 (5) A first-use nuclear strike carried out by the 

23 United States would constitute a major act of war. 


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1 (6) A first-use nuclear strike conducted absent 

2 a declaration of war by Congress would violate the 

3 Constitution. 

4 (7) The President has the sole authority to au5 thorize the use of nuclear weapons, an order which 

6 military officers of the United States must carry out 

7 in accordance with their obligations under the Uni8 form Code of Military Justice. 

9 (8) Given its exclusive power under the Con10 stitution to declare war, Congress must provide 

11 meaningful checks and balances to the President’s 

12 sole authority to authorize the use of a nuclear 

13 weapon. 

14 (b) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

15 United States that no first-use nuclear strike should be 

16 conducted absent a declaration of war by Congress. 

17 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CONDUCT OF FIRST-USE NU18 CLEAR STRIKES. 

19 (a) PROHIBITION.—No Federal funds may be obli20 gated or expended to conduct a first-use nuclear strike un21 less such strike is conducted pursuant to a war declared 

22 by Congress that expressly authorizes such strike. 

23 (b) FIRST-USE NUCLEAR STRIKE DEFINED.—In this 

24 section, the term ‘‘first-use nuclear strike’’ means an at25 tack using nuclear weapons against an enemy that is conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Apr 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1186.IS S1186

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1 ducted without the Secretary of Defense and the Chair2 man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff first confirming to the 

3 President that there has been a nuclear strike against the 

4 United States, its territories, or its allies (as specified in 

5 section 3(b)(2) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

6 2753(b)(2))). 

Æ 


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