Bill will secure nuclear stockpiles around the world
“The Possibility that al-Qaeda or its Sympathizers Could Gain Access to a Nuclear Bomb is the Greatest Danger Facing the United States in the War on Terrorism”
Attorney General John Ashcroft
Jannuary 27, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) introduced the “Omnibus Nonproliferation and Anti-Nuclear Terrorism Act of 2005” today. Experts in and out of government have reached the same conclusion; if we do not act now to secure existing nuclear weapons, as well as the materiel and expertise needed to build new weapons, a nuclear terrorist attack upon the United States is only a matter of time.
This bill will:
- Create an Office of Nonproliferation Programs (ONP) within the Executive Office of the President to coordinate and oversee America’s efforts to prevent terrorists from gaining access to nuclear weapons and to manage the effort to secure existing nuclear material in the former Soviet Union and other places;
- Expand the ability of the President to carry out Cooperative Threat Reduction programs both in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere;
- Enhance the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, announced by former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham last May;
- Call on the President to expand and strengthen his Proliferation Security Initiative to interdict the shipment of nuclear material;
- Call on the President to work with other nations and international organizations to develop and implement standards to improve the security of nuclear weapons and materials;
- Authorize the Department of Energy to assist Russia in conducting a comprehensive inventory of its tactical nuclear weapons;
- Require the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on efforts to account for and secure Russian tactical nuclear weapons, and on ways to improve the security and / or dismantlement of these weapons;
- Expand the President’s authority to fund non-defense research by Russian WMD scientists so that these scientists will not be tempted to sell their services to North Korea, Iran or al Qaeda;
- Require the President to report on ways to strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty by more effectively controlling nuclear technology and material and by mobilizing the international community to close the “loophole” in Article IV of the treaty.
“After September 11 we asked ourselves how we could have failed to foresee the danger posed by al Qaeda and taken steps to prevent 9/11. We already know about the danger of nuclear terrorism. We have been warned repeatedly that we are in a race with terrorists who are actively seeking nuclear weapons. The choice is ours: we can continue to risk an almost inevitable nuclear attack, or we can take action to prevent it,” said Rep. Adam Schiff.
"Helping to ensure weapons of mass destruction are dismantled, transported and stored safely is of utmost importance to the international community. The pressing threat of terrorism requires the United States to maintain its leadership on nonproliferation issues. I appreciate Sen. Lugar's and Rep. Schiff's commitment and leadership on this issue,” said Rep. Christopher Shays
"I commend Congressmen Schiff and Shays both for targeting the single greatest threat to America's national security, and for proposing a comprehensive approach to combating this threat," said Dr. Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.
"The Schiff-Shays legislation will do the essential work of protecting America from nuclear terrorism. Congress needs to move forward on the broad front that he has proposed. A failure to do so could mean a nuclear horror that would relegate the tragic losses of September 11th to a footnote in our country's history," said Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (USA Ret.), Senior Director, Nuclear Threat Reduction Campaign.
“The Schiff-Shays legislation would improve the security of all Americans by allowing our government to more rapidly and effectively secure these dangerous stockpiles around the world. This bill contains common-sense recommendations that are needed in these dangerous times. They deserve broad and bipartisan support,” said Ken Luongo, Executive Director, Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council (RANSAC)
Representative Schiff is the co-founder of the Democratic Study Group on National Security and a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations committees. He represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.
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