Urging the United States to continue to be a leader in supporting the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the global nonproliferation regime to reap the benefits the NPT and such regime bring to United States and international security.

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; 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; 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 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 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 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 Nunn-Lugar Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991, and the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1994; and 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 That the House of Representatives— (1) reaffirms its support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further reduce 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 interests; and (3) urges the United States to continue to be a leader on supporting the NPT and the nonproliferation regime, by— (A) continuing to encourage all State Parties to the NPT to comply fully with the treaty; (B) maintaining support for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) through its assessed and voluntary contributions and promoting the universal adoption of the IAEA Additional Protocol; (C) continuing to encourage opportunities for cooperation with other nuclear possessing states to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons in their national military strategies; (D) encouraging universality of the NPT and the Additional Protocol; (E) encouraging all states with nuclear energy programs to purchase nuclear fuel on the international market and discouraging national enrichment and reprocessing programs; (F) encouraging the continuation of the global moratorium on nuclear testing; and (G) working toward a successful 2020 NPT Review Conference.

Summary: This resolution reaffirms support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The resolution urges the United States to continue to be a leader in promoting nonproliferation through specified measures.