Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) continues to make an invaluable contribution to United States and international security, and noting former Senator Richard G. Lugar's indispensable contributions to international security and reducing nuclear weapons-related risks.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 38 Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) continues to make an invaluable contribution to United States and international security, and noting former Senator Richard G. Lugar’s indispensable contributions to international security and reducing nuclear weapons-related risks. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 14, 2019 Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. BANKS, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. LUJA´N, and Mr. FLEISCHMANN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) con- tinues to make an invaluable contribution to United States and international security, and noting former Sen- ator Richard G. Lugar’s indispensable contributions to international security and reducing nuclear weapons-re- lated risks. Whereas the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) opened for signature 50 years ago on July 1, 1968; Whereas the United States and the former Soviet Union averted a catastrophic nuclear exchange during the Octo- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HCON 38 IH ber 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which led to a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to lessen the chance of nuclear war, including the NPT; 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 United States Senate provided its advice and consent to the NPT on March 13, 1969, with a vote on ratification of 83 to 15; Whereas the NPT has grown to include 191 State Parties, making an irreplaceable contribution to international se- curity by preventing the spread of nuclear weapons; Whereas former Senator Richard G. Lugar made indispen- sable contributions to reducing nuclear weapon risks, most notably through his leadership in standing up the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (commonly re- ferred to as the ‘‘Nunn-Lugar Program’’), which elimi- nated 7,600 nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union; Whereas Senator Lugar successfully secured Senate Advice and Consent for the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed April 8, 2010, and entered into force Feb- ruary 5, 2011 (commonly known as the ‘‘New START Treaty’’); Whereas Article III of the NPT obliges each non-nuclear weapon country that is a party to the NPT to conclude a Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify treaty compliance, 174 of which are Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:34 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HCON 38 IH crafted to detect the diversion of nuclear materials from peaceful to non-peaceful uses; Whereas the 2018 Department of Defense Nuclear Posture Review affirms, ‘‘The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation 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 the success of the NPT has and will continue to de- pend upon the full implementation by all parties of the Treaty’s three mutually reinforcing pillars: non-prolifera- tion, access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and disar- mament; Whereas over the past half century, the United States has ex- hibited leadership in strengthening each of the NPT’s three pillars for the global good, including— (1) reducing its nuclear weapons stockpile by more than 85 percent from its Cold War heights of 31,225 in parallel with equally massive reductions of the Russian Federation’s stockpile through bilateral coordination; (2) cooperating with Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus through the Nunn-Lugar Act to facilitate the surrender of nuclear weapons on their soil after the fall of the Soviet Union—leading to each country’s accession to the NPT as non-nuclear weapons states; (3) providing voluntary contributions to the IAEA to promote peaceful nuclear activities exceeding $378,000,000 since 2010, including activities that help in the treatment of cancer and other life-saving applications; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HCON 38 IH (4) extending deterrence to United States allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Japan, and the Republic of Korea—which is an unmistakable demonstration of the United States commitment to col- lective security; Whereas heightened geopolitical tensions in recent years have made cooperation on non-proliferation and arms control issues with the Russian Federation more challenging; Whereas a range of actions by the Government of the Rus- sian Federation has led to a deterioration in bilateral re- lations with the United States, including— (1) Russia’s brazen interference in the 2016 United States presidential elections; (2) its violation of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (commonly known as the ‘‘INF Treaty’’), signed at Washington, DC, December 8, 1987, and entered into force June 1, 1988; (3) its use of a chemical nerve agent in an assas- sination attempt against Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom in March 2018; (4) its illegal annexation of Crimea; (5) its invasion of Eastern Ukraine; and (6) its destabilizing actions in Syria; Whereas within a difficult environment, preserving agree- ments that continue to contribute to United States and global security, particularly the New START Treaty, is important, and the Department of State confirmed in February 2018 that Russia had met New START’s Cen- tral Treaty Limits and stated that ‘‘implementation of VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HCON 38 IH the New START Treaty enhances the safety and security of the United States’’; Whereas United States efforts to reduce dangers associated with the nuclear arsenals of both the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, through an ambi- tious arms control agreement, would advance United States and global security, adding to the benefits to sta- bility and transparency provided by existing agreements; Whereas Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a March 2018 speech, unveiled details of new kinds of strategic nuclear weapons under development that may be accountable under the provisions of the New START Treaty, includ- ing hypersonic nuclear weapons, nuclear-powered cruise missiles, and multi-megaton nuclear torpedoes shot from drone submarines; Whereas the Russian Federation erroneously claimed that the United States may have not reached New START Treaty Central Limits by February 5, 2018, as is mandated by the Treaty; Whereas the Bilateral Consultative Commission is the appro- priate forum for the Parties to engage constructively on any New START Treaty implementation issues that arise; and Whereas the collapse of the INF Treaty and expiration of the New START Treaty would lead to the absence of any binding, bilateral treaty or agreement governing United States and Russian nuclear forces for the first time since 1972: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HCON 38 IH (1) the United States should continue to en- 1 courage all parties to the Treaty on the Non-Pro- 2 liferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to comply fully 3 with the Treaty; 4 (2) the United States should maintain support 5 for the International Atomic Energy Agency through 6 its assessed and voluntary contributions and pro- 7 mote the universal adoption of the IAEA Additional 8 Protocol; 9 (3) the United States should— 10 (A) consider extending the Treaty between 11 the United States of America and the Russian 12 Federation on Measures for the Further Reduc- 13 tion and Limitation of Strategic Offensive 14 Arms, signed at Prague April 8, 2010, and en- 15 tered into force February 5, 2011 (‘‘New 16 START Treaty’’), within the context of wider 17 enhancement of strategic stability between the 18 United States and the Russian Federation, pro- 19 vided that the treaty continues to advance 20 United States national security; 21 (B) assess whether Russia’s recently-an- 22 nounced nuclear capabilities should be account- 23 able under the New START Treaty and raise 24 the issue directly with Russia; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HCON 38 IH (C) conclude an interagency process to 1 consider an extension of the New START Trea- 2 ty and to engage with Russia on the full range 3 of strategic stability issues and other arms con- 4 trol and non-proliferation issues; 5 (D) begin negotiations with Russia on an 6 agreement to address the massive disparity be- 7 tween the non-strategic nuclear weapons stock- 8 piles of Russia and the United States and to se- 9 cure and reduce non-strategic nuclear weapons 10 in a verifiable manner; and 11 (E) consider the consequences of the New 12 START Treaty’s expiration in 2021 in relation 13 to the insights it provides into the location, 14 movement, and disposition of current and fu- 15 ture Russian strategic systems; 16 (4) the United States strongly condemns Rus- 17 sia’s violations of the Treaty Between the United 18 States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist 19 Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate- 20 Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, signed at Wash- 21 ington December 8, 1987, and entered into force 22 June 1, 1988, and urges it to come back into full 23 compliance prior to August 2, 2019; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HCON 38 IH (5) in responding to Russia’s deployment of 1 INF-range systems, the United States should advo- 2 cate for those defense and deterrence steps which 3 preserve the cohesion of the North Atlantic Treaty 4 Organization and are aimed at averting an arms 5 race on the European continent; 6 (6) pursuit of a verifiable and comprehensive 7 arms control agreement with Russia and the Peo- 8 ple’s Republic of China, which may capture strategic 9 and non-strategic nuclear weapons capabilities, 10 would enhance United States and global security by 11 building upon other treaties, agreements, and trans- 12 parency measures to reduce nuclear risk; and 13 (7) the United States should continue to en- 14 courage opportunities for cooperation with other nu- 15 clear weapons-possessing countries to reduce the sa- 16 lience, number, and role of nuclear weapons in their 17 national military strategies. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\HC38.IH HC38 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS