,,iii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #eic ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ai1 #bjbd,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 and ,mr4 ,sanders7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,expressing support for the continued value of arms control agreements and condemning the ,russian ,federation's purported suspension of its participation in the ,new ,,start ,treaty4 ,whereas the ,united ,states maintains bipartisan support to ensure national security and the defense of ,united ,states allies and partners2 ,whereas ,president ,ronald ,reagan stated #8#8a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought'' in his #aihd ,state of the ,union address1 and affirmed the conviction with ,soviet leader ,mikhail ,gorbachev in #aihe2 ,whereas1 in ,january #bjbb1 ,president ,joseph ,r4 ,biden joined the leaders of the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 the ,french ,republic1 the ,russian ,federation1 and the ,united ,kingdom of ,great ,britain and ,northern ,ireland to reaffirm that #8#8a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought''2 ,whereas the ,united ,states1 the ,russian ,federation1 and the ,united ,kingdom of ,great ,britain and ,northern ,ireland signed the #aiid ,budapest ,memorandum1 committing #8#8to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of ,ukraine'' and #8#8to refrain from the threat or use of force'' against the country2 ,whereas the ,united ,states has a history of leadership in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons1 including its work with ,ukraine1 the ,united ,kingdom1 and the ,russian ,federation to ensure ,ukraine did not retain any nuclear weapons left on its territory when it became independent2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation further illegally invaded ,ukraine on ,february #bd1 #bjbb1 and has used veiled and blatant nuclear saber-rattling in service of its war of aggression against a sovereign state2 ,whereas the war has led to thousands of casualties1 including over #aj1jjj civilians and more than #efj children killed1 along with the displacement of over #f1djj1jjj ,ukrainians and an enduring global food crisis2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation's illegal war against ,ukraine represents the greatest threat to ,european security and freedom in a generation2 ,whereas1 on ,february #bg1 #bjbb1 ,president of ,russia ,vladimir ,putin ordered his military to put ,russia's nuclear forces on #8#8special combat readiness0 in an escalatory response to the ,united ,states' and its ,western allies' unequivocal condemnation of the ,russian ,federation's illegal invasion of ,ukraine2 ,whereas1 on ,september #ba1 #bjbb1 ,president ,putin warned he was #8#8not bluffing'' when he said ,russia has #8#8various weapons of mass destruction'' and #8#8will use all the means available to us'' to defend its territory shortly before annexing additional ,ukrainian lands through #8#8referendums''2 ,whereas1 in ,february #bjba1 the ,united ,states and ,russian ,federation extended 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 on ,april #h1 #bjaj1 and entered into force on ,february #e1 #bjaa 7commonly referred to as the ,new ,,start ,treaty71 for #e years until ,february #e1 #bjbf2 ,whereas1 on ,february #ba1 #bjbc1 ,president ,putin announced the ,russian ,federation's purported suspension of the ,new ,,start ,treaty1 the last major remaining bilateral nuclear arms control agreement1 in a move deemed legally invalid by the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,new ,,start has had bipartisan support and limits the ,russian nuclear arsenal to #a1eej warheads on no more than #gjj deployed delivery vehicles1 and to #hjj deployed and non-deployed strategic launchers2 ,whereas ,new ,,start has permitted robust and strict transparency and verification measures and on-site inspections1 which have provided valuable insight into ,russia's nuclear arsenal2 ,whereas the ,united ,states has decades of bipartisan leadership in nuclear arms control1 including cooperation with the ,soviet ,union and the ,russian ,federation even when relations were strained2 ,whereas1 in ,june #bjbc1 the ,united ,states ,government announced it is now ready to engage in a dialogue with the ,russian ,federation on a post-#bjbf nuclear arms control framework and is 8prepared to stick to the central limits as long as ,russia does0 while also stating a 8willingness to engage in bilateral arms control discussions0 with the ,russian ,federation and the ,people's ,republic of ,china 8without preconditions02 ,whereas the nuclear weapon states recognized by the ,treaty on the ,non-,proliferation of ,nuclear ,weapons1 done at ,washington1 ,london1 and ,moscow ,july #a1 #aifh 7commonly referred to as the ,nuclear ,nonproliferation ,treaty or ,,npt71 including the ,russian ,federation1 the ,united ,states1 and the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 have an obligation to #8#8pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament02 ,whereas1 in ,november #bjbc1 senior ,united ,states and ,chinese officials held 8a candid and in-depth discussion on issues related to arms control and nonproliferation as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the ,u4,s4-,,prc relationship02 and ,whereas the absence of a new framework for nuclear arms control after the expiration of ,new ,,start would affect strategic stability and increase the risk of an unrestrained nuclear arms race with the ,russian ,federation3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 condemns in the strongest terms the ,russian ,federation's nuclear escalatory rhetoric and veiled threats on the potential use of nuclear weapons to further its invasion and aggression against a free and independent ,ukraine2 7#b7 condemns the ,russian ,federation's purported suspension of its participation in the ,new ,,start ,treaty2 7#c7 calls for immediate cessation of nuclear saber-rattling and nuclear escalatory rhetoric from the ,russian ,federation2 7#d7 emphasizes the continued value of arms control agreements between the ,united ,states and the ,russian ,federation2 7#e7 calls for the ,russian ,federation to promptly return to full implementation of the ,new ,,start ,treaty1 including on-site inspections1 provision of treaty-mandated notifications and data1 and resumption of ,bilateral ,consultative ,commission meetings2 7#f7 calls on the ,president to continue to engage the ,people's ,republic of ,china in further bilateral talks on nuclear risk reduction and arms control1 and to pursue new multilateral arms control efforts involving the #e permanent members of the ,united ,nations ,security ,council2 and 7#g7 calls on the ,president to continue to pursue nuclear arms control and risk reduction dialogue with the ,russian ,federation to maintain strategic stability1 ensure the conflict in ,ukraine does not escalate to nuclear use1 and avoid an unrestrained nuclear arms race4