Expresses the sense of the Senate that the grave threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction demands that the United States develop a comprehensive and robust nonproliferation strategy that includes: (1) a broad international coalition; (2) prevention of theft or diversion of chemical weapons; (3) reinforcement of systems for export controls and interdiction; (4) talks with North Korea; (5) elimination of excess nuclear weapons in Russia and security of nuclear materials in Russia and the former Soviet states; (6) expansion of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program; (7) adequate funding for homeland security; and (8) the pursuit of transparency measures to enhance capabilities to detect nuclear weapons activity.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 77 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 77
Expressing the sense of the Senate that one of the most grave threats
facing the United States is the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, to underscore the need for a comprehensive strategy for
dealing with this threat, and to set forth basic principles that should
underpin this strategy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 5, 2003
Mr. Daschle (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Biden, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Reid, Mr. Akaka, Mr.
Dorgan, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Carper, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Lautenberg,
Mr. Reed, Mr. Rockefeller, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Murray, Mr.
Dayton, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Corzine, Mrs. Boxer,
Mr. Harkin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Johnson, Mr.
Jeffords, and Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate that one of the most grave threats
facing the United States is the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, to underscore the need for a comprehensive strategy for
dealing with this threat, and to set forth basic principles that should
underpin this strategy.
Whereas on September 17, 2002, President Bush stated that ``[t]he gravest danger
our Nation faces lies at the crossroads of radicalism and technology.
Our enemies have openly declared that they are seeking weapons of mass
destruction, and evidence indicates that they are doing so with
determination'';
Whereas on February 11, 2003, before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate, George Tenet, the Director of Central Intelligence, testified
that ``[w]e've entered a new world of proliferation . . . Additional
countries may decide to seek nuclear weapons as it becomes clear their
neighbors and regional rivals are already doing so. The domino theory of
the 21st century may well be nuclear'';
Whereas Robert S. Mueller, III, the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, stated on February 11, 2003, that ``[m]y greatest concern
is that our enemies are trying to acquire dangerous new capabilities
with which to harm Americans. Terrorists worldwide have ready access to
information on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons
via the internet'';
Whereas the Treaty on Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, with
Annexes, Protocols, and Memorandum of Understanding, signed at Moscow on
July 31, 1991 (START Treaty) addresses a narrow aspect of the threat
posed by weapons of mass destruction--deployed strategic nuclear
weapons--and fails to address other aspects of the nuclear threat as
well as the threat posed by biological or chemical weapons or materials;
Whereas in a recent bipartisan report, former Senators Warren Rudman and Gary
Hart concluded that ``America remains dangerously unprepared to prevent
and respond to a catastrophic terrorist attack on U.S. soil'';
Whereas the United States Government last month raised the terrorist threat
level and, according to the Director of Central Intelligence, did so in
part ``because of threat reporting from multiple sources with strong al
Qaeda ties . . . and to plots that could include the use of radiological
dispersion devices as well as poisons and chemicals'';
Whereas shortly before the inauguration of President George W. Bush, a
bipartisan task force chaired by former Majority Leader of the Senate
Howard Baker and former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler reported that
``the most urgent unmet national security threat to the United States
today is the danger that weapons of mass destruction or weapons-usable
material in Russia could be stolen and sold to terrorists or hostile
nation states and used against American troops abroad or citizens at
home'';
Whereas other states of concern continue their drive to acquire a weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) capability as evidenced by the observation of the
Director of Central Intelligence, in testimony before the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, that the intelligence community
has ``renewed concern over Libya's interest in WMD'';
Whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been told by Iran that
it will not accept the strengthened safeguard protocol of the Agency and
is committed to acquiring the ability to independently produce enriched
uranium;
Whereas the Bush Administration has failed to begin direct talks with North
Korea in spite of the assessment of the United States Government that
North Korea may produce sufficient additional nuclear material for six
to eight nuclear weapons within six months and the decision of North
Korea to expel IAEA inspectors from the Yongbyon complex, to restart its
nuclear reactor, to begin moving formerly secure spent nuclear fuel
rods, to leave the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
done at Washington, London, and Moscow, July 1, 1968 (Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty or NPT), and to test a new cruise missile;
Whereas the December 2002 National Strategy to Combat Weapons Of Mass
Destruction states that ``[w]eapons of mass destruction represent a
threat not just to the United States, but also to our friends and allies
and the broader international community. For this reason, it is vital
that we work closely with like-minded countries on all elements of our
comprehensive proliferation strategy.'';
Whereas newspaper accounts of the December 2001 Nuclear Posture Review state
that the review concludes the United States might use nuclear weapons to
dissuade adversaries from undertaking military programs or operations
that could threaten United States interests, that nuclear weapons could
be employed against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack, and
that in setting requirements for nuclear strike capabilities, North
Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya are among the countries that could
be involved in immediate, potential, or unexpected contingencies;
Whereas the September 17, 2002, National Security Strategy of the United States
states that ``[a]s a matter of common sense and self-defense, America
will act against such emerging threats before they are fully formed''
and ``[t]o forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries,
the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively'';
Whereas General John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, has stated that ``[a]ny activities that erode the firebreak
between nuclear and conventional weapons or that encourage the use of
nuclear weapons for purposes that are not strategic and deterrent in
nature would undermine the advantage that we derive from overwhelming
conventional superiority'';
Whereas the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
implied the abandonment by the Bush Administration of the so-called
``negative security assurance'' pledge to refrain from using nuclear
weapons against any non-nuclear nation unless that state was allied with
a possessor of nuclear weapons, a policy that had been in place for 25
years and endorsed by successive Republican and Democratic
Administrations;
Whereas documents recently made public from the Stockpile Stewardship Conference
Planning Meeting of the Department of Defense held on January 10, 2003,
indicate that the United States is moving toward expansion of research
and development of new types of nuclear weapons and has sought repeal of
the ban on research and development of new low-yield nuclear weapons;
Whereas the United States remains dangerously vulnerable to future terrorist
attacks, and the Bush Administration has failed to spend homeland
security funds provided by Congress and has repeatedly opposed efforts
to increase funding for such homeland security activities as State and
local first responders, border security, and food and water safety;
Whereas the Bush Administration has repeatedly failed to meet the funding
benchmarks recommended by former Majority Leader of the Senate Howard
Baker and former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler for the
nonproliferation programs of the Department of Energy;
Whereas notwithstanding the transformation of the strategic environment after
the tragic events of September 11, 2001, a policy that moves toward the
goal of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and away from the increased
reliance on and the importance of nuclear weapons, will serve to further
the United States goal of preventing the proliferation of nuclear
weapons; and
Whereas in a discussion of the grave threat posed the United States by weapons
of mass destruction, President Bush has stated that ``[h]istory will
judge harshly those who saw this coming danger but failed to act'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the grave threat
posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction demands that
the United States develop a comprehensive and robust nonproliferation
strategy, including--
(1) the establishment of a broad international coalition
against proliferation;
(2) the prevention of the theft or diversion of chemical
weapons from existing stockpiles--
(A) by greatly accelerating efforts to destroy such
weapons under the terms of the Chemical Weapons
Convention in the United States, Russia, and other
nations; and
(B) by strengthening and enforcing existing
treaties and agreements on the elimination or
limitation of nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons;
(3) the termination of the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, and the systems to deliver such weapons, by the
reinforcement of the international system of export controls
and by the immediate commencement of negotiations on a protocol
to interdict shipments of such weapons and delivery systems;
(4) an engagement in direct and immediate talks with North
Korea, coordinated with United States regional allies, to
secure the peaceful end to the nuclear programs and long-range
missile programs of North Korea;
(5) the elimination of excess nuclear weapons in Russia,
and the security of nuclear materials in Russia and the states
of the former Soviet Union, by the end of the decade in order
to prevent the theft or sale of such weapons or materials to
terrorist groups or hostile states, including for that
purpose--
(A) the provision of levels of funding for the
nonproliferation programs of the Department of Energy
as called for in the report of former Majority Leader
of the Senate Howard Baker and former White House
Counsel Lloyd Cutler; and
(B) the provision of increased funding for the
Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program of the
Department of Defense;
(6) the expansion of the Cooperative Threat Reduction
program to include additional states willing to engage in
bilateral efforts to reduce their nuclear stockpiles;
(7) the provision of adequate funds for homeland security,
including the provision of funds to State, local, and tribal
governments to hire, equip, and train the first responders
required by such governments; and
(8) the enhancement of the capability of the United States
and other nations to detect nuclear weapons activity by the
pursuit of transparency measures.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3198-3199)
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