No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4099 To require the approval of Congress before explosive nuclear testing may be resumed. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 29, 2020 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require the approval of Congress before explosive nuclear testing may be resumed. 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 ‘‘No Nuclear Testing 4 Without Approval Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL OF CONGRESS FOR 6 CONDUCT OF EXPLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING. 7 Section 4210(a) of the Atomic Energy Defense Act 8 (50 U.S.C. 2530(a)) is amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘(a) EXPLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING.— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No explosive nuclear test- 1 ing may be conducted by the United States after the 2 date of the enactment of the National Defense Au- 3 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, and none of 4 the funds described in paragraph (2) may be obli- 5 gated or expended to conduct such testing, unless— 6 ‘‘(A)(i) a foreign state conducts a nuclear 7 test after that date; or 8 ‘‘(ii) there is a technical need for such test- 9 ing; 10 ‘‘(B) not less than 180 days before the 11 date proposed to conduct such testing, the 12 President submits to Congress a notification de- 13 scribed in paragraph (3) with respect to such 14 testing; and 15 ‘‘(C) a joint resolution approving the test- 16 ing with respect to which the notification is 17 submitted under subparagraph (B) is enacted 18 into law— 19 ‘‘(i) in the case of testing proposed to 20 be conducted after a foreign state conducts 21 a nuclear test— 22 ‘‘(I) without use of expedited pro- 23 cedures under paragraph (4); but 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(II) requiring, for passage in 1 the Senate, the affirmative vote of 2 two-thirds of Senators, duly chosen 3 and sworn; or 4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of testing proposed to 5 be conducted because there is a technical 6 need for such testing, pursuant to para- 7 graph (4). 8 ‘‘(2) FUNDS DESCRIBED.—The funds described 9 in this paragraph are funds— 10 ‘‘(A) authorized to be appropriated or oth- 11 erwise made available for fiscal year 2021 or 12 any fiscal year thereafter; or 13 ‘‘(B) authorized to be appropriated or oth- 14 erwise made available for any fiscal year before 15 fiscal year 2021 and available for obligation as 16 of the date of the enactment of the National 17 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 18 2021. 19 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION DESCRIBED.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A notification de- 21 scribed in this paragraph with respect to a pro- 22 posal to conduct explosive nuclear testing shall 23 include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(i) a description of the testing pro- 1 posed to be conducted; 2 ‘‘(ii) a statement of the reasons for 3 conducting the testing, including— 4 ‘‘(I) whether or not there is a 5 technical need for conducting the test- 6 ing; 7 ‘‘(II) if there is a technical need 8 for conducting the testing— 9 ‘‘(aa) a description of the 10 technical need; 11 ‘‘(bb) an assessment of al- 12 ternative options for addressing 13 the need; and 14 ‘‘(cc) an explanation of why 15 those options were not selected; 16 and 17 ‘‘(III) if the reason for con- 18 ducting the testing is in response to a 19 geopolitical event under the responsi- 20 bility of the President acting as the 21 Commander in Chief of the Armed 22 Forces, a detailed explanation of why 23 the testing would be in the supreme 24 national interest of the United States; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(iii) an estimate of the timelines and 1 costs of conducting the testing; and 2 ‘‘(iv) any other information the Presi- 3 dent considers relevant. 4 ‘‘(B) FORM.—A notification described in 5 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclas- 6 sified form but may include a classified annex. 7 ‘‘(4) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL FOR EX- 8 PLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING FOR WHICH THERE IS A 9 TECHNICAL NEED.— 10 ‘‘(A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL 11 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘joint 12 resolution of approval’ means a joint resolution 13 of either House of Congress the sole matter 14 after the resolving clause of which is the fol- 15 lowing: ‘Congress approves of the proposal of 16 the President to conduct explosive nuclear test- 17 ing for which there is a technical need, notice 18 of which was submitted to Congress under sec- 19 tion 4210(a) of the Atomic Energy Defense Act 20 (50 U.S.C. 2530(a)) on llll.’, with the 21 blank space being filled with the appropriate 22 date. 23 ‘‘(B) INTRODUCTION; REFERRAL.—A joint 24 resolution of approval— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(i) may be introduced in either 1 House by any member; and 2 ‘‘(ii) shall be referred— 3 ‘‘(I) in the Senate, to the Com- 4 mittee on Armed Services of the Sen- 5 ate; and 6 ‘‘(II) in the House of Represent- 7 atives, to the Committee on Armed 8 Services of the House of Representa- 9 tives. 10 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 11 RESENTATIVES.— 12 ‘‘(i) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.— 13 The Committee on Armed Services of the 14 House of Representatives shall report a 15 joint resolution of approval to the House 16 not later than 60 calendar days after the 17 date of receipt of the notification sub- 18 mitted under paragraph (1)(B). If the 19 committee fails to report the joint resolu- 20 tion within that period, the committee shall 21 be discharged from further consideration 22 of the joint resolution and the joint resolu- 23 tion shall be referred to the appropriate 24 calendar. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(ii) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER- 1 ATION.—After the Committee on Armed 2 Services of the House of Representatives 3 reports the joint resolution of approval to 4 the House or has been discharged from its 5 consideration, it shall be in order, not later 6 than the 120th day after Congress receives 7 the notification submitted under paragraph 8 (1)(B), to move to proceed to consider the 9 joint resolution in the House. All points of 10 order against the motion are waived. Such 11 a motion shall not be in order after the 12 House has disposed of a motion to proceed 13 on the joint resolution. The previous ques- 14 tion shall be considered as ordered on the 15 motion to its adoption without intervening 16 motion. The motion shall not be debatable. 17 A motion to reconsider the vote by which 18 the motion is disposed of shall not be in 19 order. 20 ‘‘(iii) CONSIDERATION.—The joint 21 resolution of approval shall be considered 22 as read. All points of order against the 23 joint resolution and against its consider- 24 ation are waived. The previous question 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4099 IS shall be considered as ordered on the joint 1 resolution to its passage without inter- 2 vening motion except 24 hours of debate 3 equally divided and controlled by the pro- 4 ponent and an opponent. A motion to re- 5 consider the vote on passage of the joint 6 resolution shall not be in order. 7 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.— 8 ‘‘(i) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.— 9 The Committee on Armed Services of the 10 Senate shall report a joint resolution of ap- 11 proval to the Senate not later than 60 cal- 12 endar days after the date of receipt of the 13 notification submitted under paragraph 14 (1)(B). If the committee fails to report the 15 joint resolution within that period, the 16 committee shall be discharged from further 17 consideration of the joint resolution and 18 the joint resolution shall be placed on the 19 Calendar of Business. 20 ‘‘(ii) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith- 22 standing Rule XXII of the Standing 23 Rules of the Senate, it is in order at 24 any time after the Committee on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4099 IS Armed Services reports a joint resolu- 1 tion of approval or is discharged from 2 consideration of a joint resolution of 3 approval to move to proceed to the 4 consideration of the joint resolution, 5 and all points of order against the 6 motion to proceed to the joint resolu- 7 tion (and against consideration of the 8 joint resolution) are waived. The mo- 9 tion to proceed is not debatable. The 10 motion is not subject to a motion to 11 postpone. A motion to reconsider the 12 vote by which the motion is agreed to 13 or disagreed to shall not be in order. 14 If a motion to proceed to the consider- 15 ation of the resolution is agreed to, 16 the joint resolution shall remain the 17 unfinished business until disposed of. 18 ‘‘(II) CONSIDERATION.—Consid- 19 eration of a joint resolution of ap- 20 proval, and on all debatable motions 21 in connection therewith, shall be lim- 22 ited to not more than 10 hours, which 23 shall be divided equally between the 24 majority and minority leaders or their 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4099 IS designees. A motion further to limit 1 debate is in order and not debatable. 2 An amendment to, a motion to post- 3 pone, or a motion to proceed to the 4 consideration of other business, or a 5 motion to recommit the joint resolu- 6 tion is not in order. 7 ‘‘(III) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The 8 vote on passage shall occur imme- 9 diately following the conclusion of the 10 debate on a joint resolution of ap- 11 proval, and a single quorum call at 12 the conclusion of the debate if re- 13 quested in accordance with the rules 14 of the Senate. Passage of the joint 15 resolution shall require the affirmative 16 vote of two-thirds of Senators, duly 17 chosen and sworn. 18 ‘‘(IV) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR 19 ON PROCEDURE.—Appeals from the 20 decisions of the Chair relating to the 21 application of the rules of the Senate, 22 as the case may be, to the procedure 23 relating to a joint resolution of ap- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4099 IS proval shall be decided without de- 1 bate. 2 ‘‘(E) RULES RELATING TO SENATE AND 3 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 4 ‘‘(i) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY 5 OTHER HOUSE.—If, before the passage by 6 one House of a joint resolution of that 7 House, that House receives from the other 8 House a joint resolution of approval that is 9 identical to the joint resolution of the 10 House receiving the resolution, then the 11 following procedures shall apply: 12 ‘‘(I) The joint resolution of the 13 other House shall not be referred to a 14 committee. 15 ‘‘(II) With respect to a joint res- 16 olution of the House receiving the res- 17 olution— 18 ‘‘(aa) the procedure in that 19 House shall be the same as if no 20 joint resolution had been received 21 from the other House; but 22 ‘‘(bb) the vote on passage 23 shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(AA) require the af- 1 firmative vote of two-thirds 2 of Senators, duly chosen and 3 sworn, for passage; and 4 ‘‘(BB) be on the joint 5 resolution of the other 6 House. 7 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF JOINT RESOLU- 8 TION OF OTHER HOUSE.—If one House 9 fails to introduce or consider a joint resolu- 10 tion under this section, the joint resolution 11 of the other House shall be entitled to ex- 12 pedited floor procedures under this para- 13 graph. 14 ‘‘(iii) TREATMENT OF COMPANION 15 MEASURES.—If, following passage of the 16 joint resolution in the Senate, the Senate 17 then receives an identical resolution from 18 the House of Representatives, the resolu- 19 tion of the House shall not be debatable. 20 ‘‘(iv) CONSIDERATION OF VETO MES- 21 SAGES.—If the President vetoes a joint 22 resolution of approval, debate on a veto 23 message in the Senate shall be 1 hour 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4099 IS equally divided between the majority and 1 minority leaders or their designees. 2 ‘‘(F) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 3 TIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph enacted 4 by the Senate and the House of Representa- 5 tives— 6 ‘‘(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking 7 power of the Senate and House, respec- 8 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of 9 the rules of each House, respectively, but 10 applicable only with respect to the proce- 11 dure to be followed in that House in the 12 case of a joint resolution of approval, and 13 it supersedes other rules only to the extent 14 that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 15 ‘‘(ii) with full recognition of the con- 16 stitutional right of either House to change 17 the rules (so far as relating to the proce- 18 dure of that House) at any time, in the 19 same manner, and to the same extent as in 20 the case of any other rule of that House. 21 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 22 ‘‘(A) EXPLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING.—The 23 term ‘explosive nuclear testing’— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4099.IS S4099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •S 4099 IS ‘‘(i) means testing involving the explo- 1 sive compression or assembly of fissile ma- 2 terial to exceed critical mass with the at- 3 tendant release of any nuclear energy from 4 fission processes; and 5 ‘‘(ii) does not include subcritical ex- 6 periments carried out as part of the stock- 7 pile stewardship program under section 8 4201, [Text truncated for display. 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