I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2631 
To strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland Security to develop 
nuclear forensics capabilities to permit attribution of the source of nu-
clear material. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 7, 2007 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. SHAYS, and Mr. 
THORNBERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity to develop nuclear forensics capabilities to permit 
attribution of the source of nuclear material. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Forensics and 
Attribution Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The threat of a nuclear terrorist attack on 
American soil is possibly the most serious threat to 
the national security of the United States. In the 
wake of an attack, attribution of responsibility would 
be of utmost importance. Because of the destructive 
power of the weapon, there could be little forensic 
evidence except the radioactive material in the bomb 
itself. 
(2) Through advanced nuclear forensics, using 
both existing techniques and those under develop-
ment, it may be possible to identify the origin of a 
weapon or material after it is detonated. Though 
identifying intercepted smuggled material is now 
possible in some cases, post-detonation forensics is a 
relatively undeveloped field. In addition, the pres-
sures and time constraints of performing forensics 
after a nuclear detonation would make attribution 
difficult. 
(3) A robust and well-known capability to iden-
tify the source of nuclear material used in an act of 
nuclear 
terror 
could 
also 
deter 
prospective 
proliferators. 
(4) In order to identify materials confidently, it 
is necessary to match them against samples of mate-
rial from reactors, weapons, and enrichment facili-
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ties around the world. Some of these samples are 
available to the International Atomic Energy Agency 
through safeguards agreements, and some countries 
maintain internal sample databases. Access to sam-
ples in many countries is limited by national security 
concerns. 
(5) In order to create a sufficient deterrent, it 
is necessary to have the capability to positively iden-
tify the source of nuclear material, and potential 
traffickers in nuclear material must be aware of that 
capability. International cooperation is desirable and 
may be essential to catalogue all existing sources of 
nuclear material. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL ATTRI-
BUTION AGREEMENTS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that the President 
should— 
(1) pursue international agreements, both bilat-
eral and multilateral, to establish an international 
framework for determining the source of any con-
fiscated nuclear material or weapon, as well as the 
source of any detonated weapon and the nuclear ma-
terial used in such a weapon; 
(2) develop protocols for the dissemination of 
sensitive information relating to nuclear materials 
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and samples of controlled nuclear materials, to the 
extent required by the agreements entered into 
under paragraph (1); and 
(3) develop expedited protocols for the dissemi-
nation of sensitive information needed to publicly 
identify the source of a nuclear detonation. 
SEC. 4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND 
SECURITY. 
(a) Section 1802(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (as added by Public Law 107–296; 6 U.S.C. 592) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para-
graph (11); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(10) develop with the approval of the Sec-
retary and in coordination with the heads of appro-
priate departments and agencies, methods to at-
tribute nuclear or radiological material to its source 
when such material is intercepted by the United 
States, foreign governments, or international bodies 
or dispersed in the course of a nuclear terrorist at-
tack or other nuclear or radiological explosion; and’’. 
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(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated the sum of $20,000,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010 to carry 
out section 1802(a)(10) of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002, as added by subsection (a) of this section. 
Æ 
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