No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8342 To require the approval of Congress before explosive nuclear testing may be resumed. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 Mr. HORSFORD (for himself, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. MCADAMS, Mr. PA- NETTA, and Mr. COX of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8342 IH SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL OF CONGRESS FOR 1 CONDUCT OF EXPLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING. 2 Section 4210(a) of the Atomic Energy Defense Act 3 (50 U.S.C. 2530(a)) is amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘(a) EXPLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No explosive nuclear test- 6 ing may be conducted by the United States after the 7 date of the enactment of the National Defense Au- 8 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, and none of 9 the funds described in paragraph (2) may be obli- 10 gated or expended to conduct such testing, unless— 11 ‘‘(A)(i) a foreign state conducts a nuclear 12 test after that date; or 13 ‘‘(ii) there is a technical need for such test- 14 ing; 15 ‘‘(B) not less than 180 days before the 16 date proposed to conduct such testing, the 17 President submits to Congress a notification de- 18 scribed in paragraph (3) with respect to such 19 testing; and 20 ‘‘(C) a joint resolution approving the test- 21 ing with respect to which the notification is 22 submitted under subparagraph (B) is enacted 23 into law— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8342 IH ‘‘(i) in the case of testing proposed to 1 be conducted after a foreign state conducts 2 a nuclear test— 3 ‘‘(I) without use of expedited pro- 4 cedures under paragraph (4); but 5 ‘‘(II) requiring, for passage in 6 the Senate, the affirmative vote of 7 two-thirds of Senators, duly chosen 8 and sworn; or 9 ‘‘(ii) in the case of testing proposed to 10 be conducted because there is a technical 11 need for such testing, pursuant to para- 12 graph (4). 13 ‘‘(2) FUNDS DESCRIBED.—The funds described 14 in this paragraph are funds— 15 ‘‘(A) authorized to be appropriated or oth- 16 erwise made available for fiscal year 2021 or 17 any fiscal year thereafter; or 18 ‘‘(B) authorized to be appropriated or oth- 19 erwise made available for any fiscal year before 20 fiscal year 2021 and available for obligation as 21 of the date of the enactment of the National 22 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 23 2021. 24 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION DESCRIBED.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8342 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A notification de- 1 scribed in this paragraph with respect to a pro- 2 posal to conduct explosive nuclear testing shall 3 include— 4 ‘‘(i) a description of the testing pro- 5 posed to be conducted; 6 ‘‘(ii) a statement of the reasons for 7 conducting the testing, including— 8 ‘‘(I) whether or not there is a 9 technical need for conducting the test- 10 ing; 11 ‘‘(II) if there is a technical need 12 for conducting the testing— 13 ‘‘(aa) a description of the 14 technical need; 15 ‘‘(bb) an assessment of al- 16 ternative options for addressing 17 the need; and 18 ‘‘(cc) an explanation of why 19 those options were not selected; 20 and 21 ‘‘(III) if the reason for con- 22 ducting the testing is in response to a 23 geopolitical event under the responsi- 24 bility of the President acting as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8342 IH Commander in Chief of the Armed 1 Forces, a detailed explanation of why 2 the testing would be in the supreme 3 national interest of the United States; 4 ‘‘(iii) an estimate of the timelines and 5 costs of conducting the testing; and 6 ‘‘(iv) any other information the Presi- 7 dent considers relevant. 8 ‘‘(B) FORM.—A notification described in 9 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclas- 10 sified form but may include a classified annex. 11 ‘‘(4) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL FOR EX- 12 PLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING FOR WHICH THERE IS A 13 TECHNICAL NEED.— 14 ‘‘(A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL 15 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘joint 16 resolution of approval’ means a joint resolution 17 of either House of Congress the sole matter 18 after the resolving clause of which is the fol- 19 lowing: ‘Congress approves of the proposal of 20 the President to conduct explosive nuclear test- 21 ing for which there is a technical need, notice 22 of which was submitted to Congress under sec- 23 tion 4210(a) of the Atomic Energy Defense Act 24 (50 U.S.C. 2530(a)) on llll.’, with the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8342 IH blank space being filled with the appropriate 1 date. 2 ‘‘(B) INTRODUCTION; REFERRAL.—A joint 3 resolution of approval— 4 ‘‘(i) may be introduced in either 5 House by any member; and 6 ‘‘(ii) shall be referred— 7 ‘‘(I) in the Senate, to the Com- 8 mittee on Armed Services of the Sen- 9 ate; and 10 ‘‘(II) in the House of Represent- 11 atives, to the Committee on Armed 12 Services of the House of Representa- 13 tives. 14 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 15 RESENTATIVES.— 16 ‘‘(i) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.— 17 The Committee on Armed Services of the 18 House of Representatives shall report a 19 joint resolution of approval to the House 20 not later than 60 calendar days after the 21 date of receipt of the notification sub- 22 mitted under paragraph (1)(B). If the 23 committee fails to report the joint resolu- 24 tion within that period, the committee shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8342 IH be discharged from further consideration 1 of the joint resolution and the joint resolu- 2 tion shall be referred to the appropriate 3 calendar. 4 ‘‘(ii) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER- 5 ATION.—After the Committee on Armed 6 Services of the House of Representatives 7 reports the joint resolution of approval to 8 the House or has been discharged from its 9 consideration, it shall be in order, not later 10 than the 120th day after Congress receives 11 the notification submitted under paragraph 12 (1)(B), to move to proceed to consider the 13 joint resolution in the House. All points of 14 order against the motion are waived. Such 15 a motion shall not be in order after the 16 House has disposed of a motion to proceed 17 on the joint resolution. The previous ques- 18 tion shall be considered as ordered on the 19 motion to its adoption without intervening 20 motion. The motion shall not be debatable. 21 A motion to reconsider the vote by which 22 the motion is disposed of shall not be in 23 order. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8342 IH ‘‘(iii) CONSIDERATION.—The joint 1 resolution of approval shall be considered 2 as read. All points of order against the 3 joint resolution and against its consider- 4 ation are waived. The previous question 5 shall be considered as ordered on the joint 6 resolution to its passage without inter- 7 vening motion except 24 hours of debate 8 equally divided and controlled by the pro- 9 ponent and an opponent. A motion to re- 10 consider the vote on passage of the joint 11 resolution shall not be in order. 12 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.— 13 ‘‘(i) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.— 14 The Committee on Armed Services of the 15 Senate shall report a joint resolution of ap- 16 proval to the Senate not later than 60 cal- 17 endar days after the date of receipt of the 18 notification submitted under paragraph 19 (1)(B). If the committee fails to report the 20 joint resolution within that period, the 21 committee shall be discharged from further 22 consideration of the joint resolution and 23 the joint resolution shall be placed on the 24 Calendar of Business. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8342 IH ‘‘(ii) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith- 2 standing Rule XXII of the Standing 3 Rules of the Senate, it is in order at 4 any time after the Committee on 5 Armed Services reports a joint resolu- 6 tion of approval or is discharged from 7 consideration of a joint resolution of 8 approval to move to proceed to the 9 consideration of the joint resolution, 10 and all points of order against the 11 motion to proceed to the joint resolu- 12 tion (and against consideration of the 13 joint resolution) are waived. The mo- 14 tion to proceed is not debatable. The 15 motion is not subject to a motion to 16 postpone. A motion to reconsider the 17 vote by which the motion is agreed to 18 or disagreed to shall not be in order. 19 If a motion to proceed to the consider- 20 ation of the resolution is agreed to, 21 the joint resolution shall remain the 22 unfinished business until disposed of. 23 ‘‘(II) CONSIDERATION.—Consid- 24 eration of a joint resolution of ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8342 IH proval, and on all debatable motions 1 in connection therewith, shall be lim- 2 ited to not more than 10 hours, which 3 shall be divided equally between the 4 majority and minority leaders or their 5 designees. A motion further to limit 6 debate is in order and not debatable. 7 An amendment to, a motion to post- 8 pone, or a motion to proceed to the 9 consideration of other business, or a 10 motion to recommit the joint resolu- 11 tion is not in order. 12 ‘‘(III) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The 13 vote on passage shall occur imme- 14 diately following the conclusion of the 15 debate on a joint resolution of ap- 16 proval, and a single quorum call at 17 the conclusion of the debate if re- 18 quested in accordance with the rules 19 of the Senate. Passage of the joint 20 resolution shall require the affirmative 21 vote of two-thirds of Senators, duly 22 chosen and sworn. 23 ‘‘(IV) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR 24 ON PROCEDURE.—Appeals from the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8342 IH decisions of the Chair relating to the 1 application of the rules of the Senate, 2 as the case may be, to the procedure 3 relating to a joint resolution of ap- 4 proval shall be decided without de- 5 bate. 6 ‘‘(E) RULES RELATING TO SENATE AND 7 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 8 ‘‘(i) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY 9 OTHER HOUSE.—If, before the passage by 10 one House of a joint resolution of that 11 House, that House receives from the other 12 House a joint resolution of approval that is 13 identical to the joint resolution of the 14 House receiving the resolution, then the 15 following procedures shall apply: 16 ‘‘(I) The joint resolution of the 17 other House shall not be referred to a 18 committee. 19 ‘‘(II) With respect to a joint res- 20 olution of the House receiving the res- 21 olution— 22 ‘‘(aa) the procedure in that 23 House shall be the same as if no 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8342 IH joint resolution had been received 1 from the other House; but 2 ‘‘(bb) the vote on passage 3 shall— 4 ‘‘(AA) require the af- 5 firmative vote of two-thirds 6 of Senators, duly chosen and 7 sworn, for passage; and 8 ‘‘(BB) be on the joint 9 resolution of the other 10 House. 11 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF JOINT RESOLU- 12 TION OF OTHER HOUSE.—If one House 13 fails to introduce or consider a joint resolu- 14 tion under this section, the joint resolution 15 of the other House shall be entitled to ex- 16 pedited floor procedures under this para- 17 graph. 18 ‘‘(iii) TREATMENT OF COMPANION 19 MEASURES.—If, following passage of the 20 joint resolution in the Senate, the Senate 21 then receives an identical resolution from 22 the House of Representatives, the resolu- 23 tion of the House shall not be debatable. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8342 IH ‘‘(iv) CONSIDERATION OF VETO MES- 1 SAGES.—If the President vetoes a joint 2 resolution of approval, debate on a veto 3 message in the Senate shall be 1 hour 4 equally divided between the majority and 5 minority leaders or their designees. 6 ‘‘(F) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 7 TIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph enacted 8 by the Senate and the House of Representa- 9 tives— 10 ‘‘(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking 11 power of the Senate and House, respec- 12 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of 13 the rules of each House, respectively, but 14 applicable only with respect to the proce- 15 dure to be followed in that House in the 16 case of a joint resolution of approval, and 17 it supersedes other rules only to the extent 18 that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 19 ‘‘(ii) with full recognition of the con- 20 stitutional right of either House to change 21 the rules (so far as relating to the proce- 22 dure of that House) at any time, in the 23 same manner, and to the same extent as in 24 the case of any other rule of that House. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8342.IH H8342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 8342 IH ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 1 ‘‘(A) EXPLOSIVE NUCLEAR TESTING.—The 2 term ‘explosive nuclear testing’— 3 ‘‘(i) means testing involving the explo- 4 sive compression or assembly of fissi [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]