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

<DOC>
H. Res. 825

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                     November 18, 2020.
Whereas on December 4, 1961, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously 
        approved a resolution supporting an international agreement to prevent 
        the proliferation of nuclear weapons;
Whereas the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons has been a bedrock principle of 
        United States foreign policy since 1945;
Whereas the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis nearly led the United States and 
        the former Soviet Union to a catastrophic nuclear exchange;
Whereas the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis led to a series of bilateral 
        and multilateral agreements to reduce the chances of nuclear war and 
        prevent the spread of nuclear weapons;
Whereas on August 17, 1965, the United States submitted its first draft of such 
        a treaty to the Eighteen Nation Disarmament Committee;
Whereas in May 1966, the Senate adopted S. Res. 179 supporting the President's 
        efforts to negotiate such a treaty;
Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist 
        Republics signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 
        (NPT) on its first day of opening for signature on July 1, 1968;
Whereas the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the NPT on 
        March 13, 1969, by a vote of 83 to 15;
Whereas the NPT entered into force on March 5, 1970, the date it was ratified by 
        the United States and the Soviet Union;
Whereas the NPT provides stability that is critical 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 NPT's three 
        mutually-reinforcing pillars: nonproliferation, access to peaceful uses 
        of nuclear energy, and disarmament;
Whereas United States leadership has been and will continue to be indispensable 
        to the development and success of the global nuclear nonproliferation 
        regime;
Whereas on May 11, 1995, the NPT was extended indefinitely;
Whereas North Korea is the only non-nuclear weapon state that was a party to the 
        NPT before acquiring nuclear weapons;
Whereas the United States has supported the NPT's disarmament goals by 
        negotiating bilateral arms control agreements and achieving dramatic 
        reductions in its own and other states' nuclear weapons stockpiles 
        through these treaties, including the 1972 SALT I Treaty, the 1987 INF 
        Treaty, the 1991 START I Treaty, the 2002 Moscow Treaty, and the 2010 
        New START treaty;
Whereas the United States has promoted the NPT's nonproliferation pillar by 
        supporting states that relinquished their nuclear weapons and acceded to 
        the NPT, such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and South Africa;
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 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 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''; and
Whereas Congress has long been a leading voice 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, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Prevention 
        Act of 1994, and other legislative efforts: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls for continued 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 interest;
            (3) recognizes that the United States, through its network of 
        alliances, has led the world upholding the pillars of the NPT and 
        continues to work together to strengthen the NPT; and
            (4) urges the United States to continue to be a leader in supporting 
        the NPT and the global nonproliferation regime, by--
                    (A) continuing to encourage all States Party to the NPT to 
                comply fully with the NPT;
                    (B) maintaining support for the International Atomic Energy 
                Agency through its assessed and voluntary contributions and 
                promote the universal adoption of the IAEA Additional Protocol;
                    (C) continuing to encourage opportunities for cooperation 
                with other nuclear weapons states to reduce the number and role 
                of nuclear weapons;
                    (D) encouraging universality of the NPT and the Additional 
                Protocol;
                    (E) discouraging the unlawful spread of uranium enrichment 
                technologies and ensuring such technologies covered under the 
                NPT are properly verified;
                    (F) developing policies to prevent withdrawal of additional 
                states parties from the Treaty;
                    (G) maintaining global moratoria on nuclear explosive 
                testing, which is in the national security interest of the 
                United States; and
                    (H) working towards a successful 2021 NPT Review Conference.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.