IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 825 

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on 

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), recognizing the importance of the NPT’s continued contributions to United States and international security, and commemorating United States leadership in 

strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime since the dawn of 

the nuclear era. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2020 

Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. BANKS, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. 

LUJA ́N, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. BERA, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. YOHO, and Ms. SPANBERGER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the entry into force 

of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), recognizing the importance of the NPT’s 

continued contributions to United States and international security, and commemorating United States 

leadership in strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation 

regime since the dawn of the nuclear era. 

This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘NPT at 50 Resolution’’. 

Whereas the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons has been a 

bedrock principle of United States foreign policy since 

1945; 


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•HRES 825 IH 

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 reduce the 

chances of nuclear war and prevent the spread of nuclear 

weapons; 

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 nuclear nonproliferation regime, led by the 

United States, has been strengthened by a complex network of complementary treaties, and agreements, the cornerstone of which is the NPT; 

Whereas the NPT was signed by the United States, alongside 

the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, on its first 

day of opening for signature, July 1, 1968; 

Whereas the United States ratified the treaty on March 13, 

1969, with a vote on ratification of 83 to 15; 

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

Whereas the NPT provides important stability 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 treaty’s three mutually reinforcing pillars: nonproliferation, access to peaceful uses of 

nuclear energy, and disarmament; 

Whereas United States leadership has been and will contribute to be indispensable to the development and success of the nuclear nonproliferation regime; 

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


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•HRES 825 IH 

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 only one nonnuclear weapon state that was a party 

to the treaty has acquired nuclear weapons; 

Whereas the United States has led the NPT’s disarmament 

pillar by negotiating bilateral arms control agreements, 

achieving dramatic reductions in the nuclear weapons 

stockpile, in support of Article VI and the disarmament 

aims of the NPT, such as 1972 SALT I, 1979 SALT II, 

1991 START I, 1993 START II, SORT, and New 

START; 

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

such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and South Africa; 

Whereas the United States has also been a lead supporter of 

many regional nuclear-weapons-free zones, including 

Latin America, Central Asia, the South Pacific, Africa, 

and Southeast Asia, and bans on nuclear weapons on the 

seabed, in outer space, and on the Moon; 

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 every President has supported the NPT, such as 

when President Donald Trump noted in a message to the 

International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference September 16, 2019, ‘‘For nearly 50 years, the 

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has prevented the 

spread of nuclear weapons’’; 


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•HRES 825 IH 

Whereas, on September 18, 2018, Assistant Secretary of 

State for International Security and Nonproliferation 

Christopher Ford recalled a President Trump statement 

in which he called the Additional Protocol ‘‘the international standard’’, and then Ford noted that ‘‘consistent 

with that message, the AP should be universalized’’; 

Whereas the United States has been a strong supporter of 

the implementing bodies of the nonproliferation and export control regimes, such as the Zangger Committee and 

the Nuclear Suppliers Group; 

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 50th anniversary of the treaty first being signed, 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’’; 

Whereas Congress has often been at the forefront of advocating for nonproliferation, including through the ExportImport 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 Nunn-Lugar Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction 

Act of 1991, and the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention 

Act of 1994; and 


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•HRES 825 IH 

Whereas the 10th NPT Review Conference will occur during 

the treaty’s 50th year in New York, from April 27 to 

May 22, 2020: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms its support for the Treaty on the 

3 Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to 

4 prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further re5 duce the number of nuclear weapons, and to pro6 mote the peaceful use of nuclear energy as it has 

7 over the past 50 years; 

8 (2) reaffirms that a strong nonproliferation re9 gime is in the United States interests; and 

10 (3) urges the United States to continue to be 

11 a leader on supporting the NPT and the non12 proliferation regime, by— 

13 (A) continuing to encourage all State Par14 ties to the NPT to comply fully with the treaty; 

15 (B) maintaining support for the Inter16 national Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 

17 through its assessed and voluntary contribu18 tions and promoting the universal adoption of 

19 the IAEA Additional Protocol; 

20 (C) continuing to encourage opportunities 

21 for cooperation with other nuclear possessing 

22 states to reduce the number and role of nuclear 

23 weapons in their national military strategies; 


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•HRES 825 IH 

1 (D) encouraging universality of the NPT 

2 and the Additional Protocol; 

3 (E) encouraging all states with nuclear en4 ergy programs to purchase nuclear fuel on the 

5 international market and discouraging national 

6 enrichment and reprocessing programs; 

7 (F) encouraging the continuation of the 

8 global moratorium on nuclear testing; and 

9 (G) working toward a successful 2020 

10 NPT Review Conference. 

Æ 


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