I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8902 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to notify Congress before carrying out 
an order to use a nuclear weapon without a declaration of war by Congress. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 
Ms. SLOTKIN 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 direct the Secretary of Defense to notify Congress before 
carrying out an order to use a nuclear weapon without 
a declaration of war by Congress. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT REGARDING 
USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WITHOUT DEC-
LARATION OF WAR BY CONGRESS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
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(1) nuclear deterrence is the bedrock of United 
States national security; 
(2) the ability for the United States to quickly 
and decisively respond to acts of aggression against 
the United States and the allies and partners of the 
United States, including nuclear attacks, deters ac-
tors from acting against the United States in the 
first place; 
(3) as currently structured, responsibility and 
authority for the release of nuclear weapons resides 
solely with the President; 
(4) any Presidential order for a nuclear strike 
must be verified by a senior official of the Depart-
ment of Defense or military officer to ensure that a 
lawful order was in fact issued by the President; 
(5) neither a senior official of the Department 
nor a military officer in the chain of command has 
veto power and, therefore, must comply with a law-
ful order or resign; 
(6) however, entrusting an individual with the 
authority to order the use of nuclear weapons raises 
the possibility, however small, of their accidental or 
inappropriate use that risks catastrophic loss of life 
and potential escalation into nuclear war; and 
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(7) the chain of command established under 
section 162(b) of title 10, United States Code, ap-
plies to Presidential orders regarding the use of nu-
clear weapons. 
(b) NOTIFICATION.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Upon the receipt of an 
order described in paragraph (2) and before carrying 
out such order, the Secretary of Defense, or any 
other senior official of the Department of Defense or 
military officer that is in direct receipt of such 
order, shall notify the congressional defense commit-
tees, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
the majority leader of the Senate, the minority lead-
er of the House of Representatives, and the minority 
leader of the Senate of such order. 
(2) ORDER DESCRIBED.—An order described in 
this paragraph is a verified order by the President 
to use nuclear weapons without a declaration of war 
by Congress. 
Æ 
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