Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 669 To restrict the first-use strike of nuclear weapons. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2021 Mr. LIEU (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. SHER- MAN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. BEYER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. MENG, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. RUSH, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. PORTER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. WELCH, and Mrs. NAPOLITANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in ad- dition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To restrict the first-use strike of nuclear weapons. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restricting First Use 4 of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H669.IH H669 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 669 IH (1) The Constitution gives Congress the sole 1 power to declare war. 2 (2) The framers of the Constitution understood 3 that the monumental decision to go to war, which 4 can result in massive death and the destruction of 5 civilized society, must be made by the representa- 6 tives of the people and not by a single person. 7 (3) As stated by section 2(c) of the War Powers 8 Resolution (Public Law 93–148; 50 U.S.C. 1541), 9 ‘‘the constitutional powers of the President as Com- 10 mander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed 11 Forces into hostilities, or into situations where im- 12 minent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated 13 by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to 14 (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory au- 15 thorization, or (3) a national emergency created by 16 attack upon the United States, its territories or pos- 17 sessions, or its armed forces’’. 18 (4) Nuclear weapons are uniquely powerful 19 weapons that have the capability to instantly kill 20 millions of people, create long-term health and envi- 21 ronmental consequences throughout the world, di- 22 rectly undermine global peace, and put the United 23 States at existential risk from retaliatory nuclear 24 strikes. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H669.IH H669 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 669 IH (5) A first-use nuclear strike carried out by the 1 United States would constitute a major act of war. 2 (6) A first-use nuclear strike conducted absent 3 a declaration of war by Congress would violate the 4 Constitution. 5 (7) The President has the sole authority to au- 6 thorize the use of nuclear weapons, an order which 7 military officers of the United States must carry out 8 in accordance with their obligations under the Uni- 9 form Code of Military Justice. 10 (8) Given its exclusive power under the Con- 11 stitution to declare war, Congress must provide 12 meaningful checks and balances to the President’s 13 sole authority to authorize the use of a nuclear 14 weapon. 15 (b) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 16 United States that no first-use nuclear strike should be 17 conducted absent a declaration of war by Congress. 18 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CONDUCT OF FIRST-USE NU- 19 CLEAR STRIKES. 20 (a) PROHIBITION.—No Federal funds may be obli- 21 gated or expended to conduct a first-use nuclear strike un- 22 less such strike is conducted pursuant to a war declared 23 by Congress that expressly authorizes such strike. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H669.IH H669 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 669 IH (b) FIRST-USE NUCLEAR STRIKE DEFINED.—In this 1 section, the term ‘‘first-use nuclear strike’’ means an at- 2 tack using nuclear weapons against an enemy that is con- 3 ducted without the Secretary of Defense and the Chair- 4 man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff first confirming to the 5 President that there has been a nuclear strike against the 6 United States, its territories, or its allies (as specified in 7 section 3(b)(2) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 8 2753(b)(2))). 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H669.IH H669 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS