I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7180 
To limit the availability of funds to extend the implementation of the New 
START Treaty, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 28, 2018 
Ms. CHENEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To limit the availability of funds to extend the implementa-
tion of the New START Treaty, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Stopping Russian Nu-
clear Aggression Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS TO EX-
TEND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW 
START TREATY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:05 Nov 29, 2018
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7180.IH
H7180
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
(1) The New START Treaty provides that, 
‘‘[w]hen a Party believes that a new kind of stra-
tegic offensive arm is emerging, that Party shall 
have the right to raise the question of such a stra-
tegic offensive arm for consideration in the Bilateral 
Consultative Commission’’. 
(2) Russian Federation President Vladimir 
Putin stated in a March 1, 2018, public speech 
that— 
(A) ‘‘I will speak about the newest systems 
of Russian strategic weapons that we are cre-
ating . . . we have embarked on the develop-
ment of the next generation of missiles.’’; 
(B) ‘‘We started to develop new types of 
strategic arms that do not use ballistic trajec-
tories at all when moving toward a target.’’; 
(C) ‘‘One of them is a small-scale heavy- 
duty nuclear energy unit that can be installed 
in a missile like our latest X–101 air-launched 
missile . . . . In late 2017, Russia successfully 
launched its latest nuclear-powered missile at 
the central training ground. During its flight, 
the nuclear-powered engine reached its design 
capacity and provided the necessary propul-
sion.’’; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:05 Nov 29, 2018
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7180.IH
H7180
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
(D) ‘‘[i]n December 2017, an innovative 
nuclear power unit for this unmanned under-
water vehicle completed a test cycle that lasted 
many years . . . [t]he tests that were con-
ducted enabled us to begin developing a new 
type of strategic weapon that would carry mas-
sive nuclear ordnance’’; 
(E) ‘‘[b]y the way, we have yet to choose 
names for these two new strategic weapons, the 
global range cruise missile and the unmanned 
underwater vehicle. We are waiting for sugges-
tions from the Defense Ministry’’; 
(F) ‘‘A real technological breakthrough is 
the development of a strategic missile system 
with fundamentally new combat equipment—a 
gliding wing unit, which has also been success-
fully tested . . . [w]e called it the Avangard’’; 
and 
(G) ‘‘I want to specifically emphasize that 
the newly developed strategic arms—in fact, 
new types of strategic weapons—are not the re-
sult of something left over from the Soviet 
Union. Of course, we relied on some ideas from 
our ingenious predecessors. But everything I 
have described today is the result of the last 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:05 Nov 29, 2018
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7180.IH
H7180
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
several years, the product of dozens of research 
organizations, design bureaus and institute.’’. 
(3) During the House Armed Services Com-
mittee hearing on April 12, 2018, Secretary of De-
fense James Mattis was asked whether Russia 
should honor the terms of the treaty and limit its 
new strategic offensive arms under the New START 
Treaty as it requires and he stated, ‘‘Sir, I believe 
they should.’’. 
(4) At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
Hearing on September 18, 2018, Under Secretary of 
State for Arms Control and International Security 
Andrea Thompson stated that, ‘‘The value of any 
arms control agreement is derived from our treaty 
partners maintaining compliance with their obliga-
tions and avoiding actions that result in mistrust 
and the potential for miscalculation. Russia con-
tinues to violate a series of arms control obligations 
that undermine the trust the United States can 
place in treaties.’’. 
(5) At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
Hearing on September 18, 2018, Deputy Undersec-
retary of Defense for Policy David Trachtenberg 
stated that— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:05 Nov 29, 2018
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7180.IH
H7180
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
(A) ‘‘The bottom line is that arms control 
with Russia is troubled because the Russian 
Federation apparently believes it need only 
abide by the agreements that suit it. As a re-
sult, the credibility of all international agree-
ments with Russia is at risk’’; and 
(B) ‘‘Any decision on extending the treaty 
will, and should be, based on a realistic assess-
ment of whether the New START treaty re-
mains in our national security interests in light 
of overall Russian arms control behavior’’. 
(b) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, no funds authorized to be appropriated or oth-
erwise made available for fiscal year 2019 and subsequent 
fiscal years may be obligated or expended to extend the 
implementation of the New START Treaty beyond the 
current expiration date in 2021 unless the President cer-
tifies to the appropriate congressional committees that— 
(1) extending the New START Treaty is in the 
national security interest of the United States; and 
(2) the Russian Federation has— 
(A) agreed to include all covered Russian 
systems under the limits set by the New 
START Treaty; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:05 Nov 29, 2018
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7180.IH
H7180
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
(B) per paragraph (a)(12) of the Resolu-
tion of Ratification for the New START Treaty 
adopted in the Senate on December 22, 2010 
(Treaty Document 111–5), entered into an 
agreement with the United States to address 
the disparity between the nonstrategic (tactical) 
nuclear weapons stockpiles of the Russian Fed-
eration and of the United States by securing 
and reducing in a verifiable manner Russian 
tactical nuclear weapons. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of 
the Senate and the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices of the House of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives. 
(2) NEW
START
TREATY.—The term ‘‘New 
START Treaty’’ means the Treaty between the 
United States of America and the Russian Federa-
tion on Measures for the Further Reduction and 
Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed at 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:05 Nov 29, 2018
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7180.IH
H7180
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Prague, April 8, 2010, and entered into force Feb-
ruary 5, 2011. 
(3) COVERED
RUSSIAN
SYSTEMS.—The term 
‘‘covered Russian systems’’ means the following: 
(A) The heavy intercontinental missile sys-
tem known as ‘‘Sarmat’’, or otherwise identi-
fied. 
(B) 
An 
air-launched 
nuclear-powered 
cruise missile known as ‘‘X–101’’, or otherwise 
identified. 
(C) An unmanned underwater vehicle 
known as ‘‘Status 6’’, or otherwise identified. 
(D) 
The 
long-distance 
guided 
flight 
hypersonic 
weapons 
system 
known 
by 
‘‘Avanguard’’, or otherwise identified. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:05 Nov 29, 2018
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H7180.IH
H7180
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS