,,iv #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #ch ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #ad1 #bjai,mr4 ,sherman 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,banks1 ,mr4 ,foster1 ,mr4 ,fortenberry1 ,mr4 ,lujn1 and ,mr4 ,fleischmann7 submitted the following concurrent resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,,concurrent ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of the ,congress that the ,treaty on the ,non-,proliferation of ,nuclear ,weapons 7,,npt7 continues to make an invaluable contribution to ,united ,states and international security1 and noting former ,senator ,richard ,g4 ,lugar's indispensable contributions to international security and reducing nuclear weapons-related risks4 ,whereas the ,treaty on the ,non-,proliferation of ,nuclear ,weapons 7,,npt7 opened for signature #ej years ago on ,july #a1 #aifh2 ,whereas the ,united ,states and the former ,soviet ,union averted a catastrophic nuclear exchange during the ,october #aifb ,cuban ,missile ,crisis1 which led to a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to lessen the chance of nuclear war1 including the ,,npt2 ,whereas ,president ,john ,f4 ,kennedy predicted in #aifc that as many as #be countries would acquire nuclear weapons by #aigj absent a treaty to control nuclear weapons2 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,senate provided its advice and consent to the ,,npt on ,march #ac1 #aifi1 with a vote on ratification of #hc to #ae2 ,whereas the ,,npt has grown to include #aia ,state ,parties1 making an irreplaceable contribution to international security by preventing the spread of nuclear weapons2 ,whereas former ,senator ,richard ,g4 ,lugar made indispensable contributions to reducing nuclear weapon risks1 most notably through his leadership in standing up the ,cooperative ,threat ,reduction ,program 7commonly referred to as the ,nunn-,lugar ,program71 which eliminated #g1fjj nuclear weapons in the former ,soviet ,union2 ,whereas ,senator ,lugar successfully secured ,senate ,advice and ,consent for the ,treaty between the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,russian ,federation on ,measures for the ,further ,reduction and ,limitation of ,strategic ,offensive ,arms1 signed ,april #h1 #bjaj1 and entered into force ,february #e1 #bjaa 7commonly known as the ,new ,,start ,treaty72 ,whereas ,article ,,iii of the ,,npt obliges each non-nuclear weapon country that is a party to the ,,npt to conclude a ,safeguards ,agreement with the ,international ,atomic ,energy ,agency 7,,iaea7 to verify treaty compliance1 #agd of which are ,comprehensive ,safeguards ,agreements crafted to detect the diversion of nuclear materials from peaceful to non-peaceful uses2 ,whereas the #bjah ,department of ,defense ,nuclear ,posture ,review affirms1 ,the ,nuclear ,non-,proliferation ,treaty 7,,npt7 is a cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime4 ,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 ,treaty42 ,whereas the success of the ,,npt has and will continue to depend upon the full implementation by all parties of the ,treaty's three mutually reinforcing pillars3 non-proliferation1 access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy1 and disarmament2 ,whereas over the past half century1 the ,united ,states has exhibited leadership in strengthening each of the ,,npt's three pillars for the global good1 including-- 7#a7 reducing its nuclear weapons stockpile by more than #he percent from its ,cold ,war heights of #ca1bbe in parallel with equally massive reductions of the ,russian ,federation's stockpile through bilateral coordination2 7#b7 cooperating with ,kazakhstan1 ,ukraine1 and ,belarus through the ,nunn-,lugar ,act to facilitate the surrender of nuclear weapons on their soil after the fall of the ,soviet ,union--leading to each country's accession to the ,,npt as non-nuclear weapons states2 7#c7 providing voluntary contributions to the ,,iaea to promote peaceful nuclear activities exceeding #cgh1jjj1jjj since #bjaj1 including activities that help in the treatment of cancer and other life-saving applications2 and 7#d7 extending deterrence to ,united ,states allies in the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization 7,,nato71 ,japan1 and the ,republic of ,korea--which is an unmistakable demonstration of the ,united ,states commitment to collective security2 ,whereas heightened geopolitical tensions in recent years have made cooperation on non-proliferation and arms control issues with the ,russian ,federation more challenging2 ,whereas a range of actions by the ,government of the ,russian ,federation has led to a deterioration in bilateral relations with the ,united ,states1 including-- 7#a7 ,russia's brazen interference in the #bjaf ,united ,states presidential elections2 7#b7 its violation of the ,treaty between the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,union of ,soviet ,socialist ,republics on the ,elimination of ,their ,intermediate-,range and ,shorter-,range ,missiles 7commonly known as the ,,inf ,treaty71 signed at ,washington1 ,,dc1 ,december #h1 #aihg1 and entered into force ,june #a1 #aihh2 7#c7 its use of a chemical nerve agent in an assassination attempt against ,sergei ,skripal and his daughter ,yulia in the ,united ,kingdom in ,march #bjah2 7#d7 its illegal annexation of ,crimea2 7#e7 its invasion of ,eastern ,ukraine2 and 7#f7 its destabilizing actions in ,syria2 ,whereas within a difficult environment1 preserving agreements that continue to contribute to ,united ,states and global security1 particularly the ,new ,,start ,treaty1 is important1 and the ,department of ,state confirmed in ,february #bjah that ,russia had met ,new ,,start's ,central ,treaty ,limits and stated that implementation of the ,new ,,start ,treaty enhances the safety and security of the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,united ,states efforts to reduce dangers associated with the nuclear arsenals of both the ,russian ,federation and the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 through an ambitious arms control agreement1 would advance ,united ,states and global security1 adding to the benefits to stability and transparency provided by existing agreements2 ,whereas ,russian ,president ,vladimir ,putin1 in a ,march #bjah speech1 unveiled details of new kinds of strategic nuclear weapons under development that may be accountable under the provisions of the ,new ,,start ,treaty1 including hypersonic nuclear weapons1 nuclear-powered cruise missiles1 and multi-megaton nuclear torpedoes shot from drone submarines2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation erroneously claimed that the ,united ,states may have not reached ,new ,,start ,treaty ,central ,limits by ,february #e1 #bjah1 as is mandated by the ,treaty2 ,whereas the ,bilateral ,consultative ,commission is the appropriate forum for the ,parties to engage constructively on any ,new ,,start ,treaty implementation issues that arise2 and ,whereas the collapse of the ,,inf ,treaty and expiration of the ,new ,,start ,treaty would lead to the absence of any binding1 bilateral treaty or agreement governing ,united ,states and ,russian nuclear forces for the first time since #aigb3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,united ,states should continue to encourage all parties to the ,treaty on the ,non-,proliferation of ,nuclear ,weapons 7,,npt7 to comply fully with the ,treaty2 7#b7 the ,united ,states should maintain support for the ,international ,atomic ,energy ,agency through its assessed and voluntary contributions and promote the universal adoption of the ,,iaea ,additional ,protocol2 7#c7 the ,united ,states should-- 7,a7 consider extending the ,treaty between the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,russian ,federation on ,measures for the ,further ,reduction and ,limitation of ,strategic ,offensive ,arms1 signed at ,prague ,april #h1 #bjaj1 and entered into force ,february #e1 #bjaa 7,new ,,start ,treaty71 within the context of wider enhancement of strategic stability between the ,united ,states and the ,russian ,federation1 provided that the treaty continues to advance ,united ,states national security2 7,b7 assess whether ,russia's recently-announced nuclear capabilities should be accountable under the ,new ,,start ,treaty and raise the issue directly with ,russia2 7,c7 conclude an interagency process to consider an extension of the ,new ,,start ,treaty and to engage with ,russia on the full range of strategic stability issues and other arms control and non-proliferation issues2 7,d7 begin negotiations with ,russia on an agreement to address the massive disparity between the non-strategic nuclear weapons stockpiles of ,russia and the ,united ,states and to secure and reduce non-strategic nuclear weapons in a verifiable manner2 and 7,e7 consider the consequences of the ,new ,,start ,treaty's expiration in #bjba in relation to the insights it provides into the location1 movement1 and disposition of current and future ,russian strategic systems2 7#d7 the ,united ,states strongly condemns ,russia's violations of the ,treaty ,between the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,union of ,soviet ,socialist ,republics on the ,elimination of ,their ,intermediate-,range and ,shorter-,range ,missiles1 signed at ,washington ,december #h1 #aihg1 and entered into force ,june #a1 #aihh1 and urges it to come back into full compliance prior to ,august #b1 #bjai2 7#e7 in responding to ,russia's deployment of ,,inf-range systems1 the ,united ,states should advocate for those defense and deterrence steps which preserve the cohesion of the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization and are aimed at averting an arms race on the ,european continent2 7#f7 pursuit of a verifiable and comprehensive arms control agreement with ,russia and the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 which may capture strategic and non-strategic nuclear weapons capabilities1 would enhance ,united ,states and global security by building upon other treaties1 agreements1 and transparency measures to reduce nuclear risk2 and 7#g7 the ,united ,states should continue to encourage opportunities for cooperation with other nuclear weapons-possessing countries to reduce the salience1 number1 and role of nuclear weapons in their national military strategies4