H. Res. 825 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

November 18, 2020. 

Whereas on December 4, 1961, the United Nations General 

Assembly unanimously approved a resolution supporting 

an international agreement to prevent the proliferation of 

nuclear weapons; 

Whereas the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons has been a 

bedrock principle of United States foreign policy since 

1945; 

Whereas the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis nearly led 

the United States and the former Soviet Union to a catastrophic nuclear exchange; 

Whereas the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis led to a 

series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to reduce 

the chances of nuclear war and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons; 

Whereas on August 17, 1965, the United States submitted 

its first draft of such a treaty to the Eighteen Nation 

Disarmament Committee; 

Whereas in May 1966, the Senate adopted S. Res. 179 supporting the President’s efforts to negotiate such a treaty; 

Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, and the 

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed the Treaty on 
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the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on its 

first day of opening for signature on July 1, 1968; 

Whereas the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the NPT on March 13, 1969, by a vote of 83 to 

15; 

Whereas the NPT entered into force on March 5, 1970, the 

date it was ratified by the United States and the Soviet 

Union; 

Whereas the NPT provides stability that is critical for United 

States and international security, and its success has and 

will continue to depend upon the full implementation by 

all State Parties of the NPT’s three mutually-reinforcing 

pillars: nonproliferation, access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and disarmament; 

Whereas United States leadership has been and will continue 

to be indispensable to the development and success of the 

global nuclear nonproliferation regime; 

Whereas on May 11, 1995, the NPT was extended indefinitely; 

Whereas North Korea is the only non-nuclear weapon state 

that was a party to the NPT before acquiring nuclear 

weapons; 

Whereas the United States has supported the NPT’s disarmament goals by negotiating bilateral arms control agreements and achieving dramatic reductions in its own and 

other states’ nuclear weapons stockpiles through these 

treaties, including the 1972 SALT I Treaty, the 1987 

INF Treaty, the 1991 START I Treaty, the 2002 Moscow Treaty, and the 2010 New START treaty; 

Whereas the United States has promoted the NPT’s nonproliferation pillar by supporting states that relinquished 
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their nuclear weapons and acceded to the NPT, such as 

Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and South Africa; 

Whereas the United States has worked to ensure the peaceful 

uses of nuclear energy by supporting the International 

Atomic Energy Agency and its safeguards programs, including the Additional Protocol; 

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 on June 28, 2018, the United States, United Kingdom, and Russian governments released a joint statement, reaffirming their commitment to work toward ‘‘the 

ultimate goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons, as 

set forth in the NPT’’; and 

Whereas Congress has long been a leading voice for nonproliferation, including through the Export-Import Bank 

Act of 1945, the McMahon Act of 1946, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 

1978, the Export Administration Act of 1979, the NunnLugar Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991, the 

Nuclear Nonproliferation Prevention Act of 1994, and 

other legislative efforts: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) calls for continued support for the Treaty on 

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to 

prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further reduce 
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the number of nuclear weapons, and to promote the 

peaceful use of nuclear energy as it has over the past 50 

years; 

(2) reaffirms that a strong nonproliferation regime 

is in the United States interest; 

(3) recognizes that the United States, through its 

network of alliances, has led the world upholding the pillars of the NPT and continues to work together to 

strengthen the NPT; and 

(4) urges the United States to continue to be a 

leader in supporting the NPT and the global nonproliferation regime, by— 

(A) continuing to encourage all States Party to 

the NPT to comply fully with the NPT; 

(B) maintaining support for the International 

Atomic Energy Agency through its assessed and 

voluntary contributions and promote the universal 

adoption of the IAEA Additional Protocol; 

(C) continuing to encourage opportunities for 

cooperation with other nuclear weapons states to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons; 

(D) encouraging universality of the NPT and 

the Additional Protocol; 

(E) discouraging the unlawful spread of uranium enrichment technologies and ensuring such 
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technologies covered under the NPT are properly 

verified; 

(F) developing policies to prevent withdrawal 

of additional states parties from the Treaty; 

(G) maintaining global moratoria on nuclear 

explosive testing, which is in the national security 

interest of the United States; and 

(H) working towards a successful 2021 NPT 

Review Conference. 

Attest: 

Clerk.