Title: 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.
Policy area: International Affairs

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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 825 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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. 
 Lujan, 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;
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'', 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 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
    Resolved, 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.
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