,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ccef ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #d1 #bjbe,mr4 ,markey 7for himself and ,mr4 ,merkley7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to reduce and eliminate threats posed by nuclear weapons to the ,united ,states1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,hastening ,arms ,limitations ,talks ,act of #bjbe or the ,,halt ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the use of nuclear weapons poses an existential threat to humanity1 a fact that led ,president ,ronald ,reagan and ,soviet ,premier ,mikhail ,gorbachev to declare in a joint statement in #aihg that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought1 a sentiment affirmed by the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 ,france1 the ,russian ,federation1 the ,united ,kingdom1 and the ,united ,states in ,january #bjbb4 7#b7 ,on ,june #ab1 #aihb1 an estimated #a1jjj1jjj people attended the largest peace rally in ,united ,states history1 in support of a movement to freeze and reverse the nuclear arms race1 a movement that helped to create the political will necessary for the negotiation of several bilateral arms control treaties between the ,united ,states and former ,soviet ,union1 and then the ,russian ,federation4 ,those treaties contributed to strategic stability through mutual and verifiable reciprocal nuclear weapons reductions4 7#c7 ,since the advent of nuclear weapons in #aide1 millions of people around the world have stood up to demand meaningful1 immediate international action to halt1 reduce1 and eliminate the threats posed by nuclear weapons1 nuclear weapons testing1 and nuclear war1 to humankind and the planet4 7#d7 ,in #aigj1 the ,treaty on the ,non-,proliferation of ,nuclear ,weapons done at ,washington1 ,london1 and ,moscow ,july #a1 #aifh 7#ba ,,ust #dhc7 7commonly referred to as the ,nuclear ,non-,proliferation ,treaty or the ,,npt71 entered into force1 which includes a binding obligation on the #e nuclear-weapon states 7commonly referred to as the ,p#e71 among other things1 to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race ''' and to nuclear disarmament4 7#e7 ,bipartisan ,united ,states global leadership has curbed the growth in the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons and has slowed overall vertical proliferation among countries already possessing nuclear weapons1 as is highlighted by a more than #ij percent reduction in the ,united ,states nuclear weapons stockpile from its ,cold ,war height of #ca1bee in #aifg4 7#f7 ,the ,united ,states testing of nuclear weapons is no longer necessary as a result of the following major technical developments since the ,senate's consideration of the ,comprehensive ,nuclear-,test-,ban ,treaty 7commonly referred to as the ,,ctbt7 in #aiii3 7,a7 ,the verification architecture of the ,comprehensive ,nuclear ,test-,ban-,treaty ,organization 7commonly referred to as the ,,ctbto7-- 7i7 has made significant advancements1 as seen through its network of #cjj ,international ,monitoring ,stations and its ,international ,data ,centre1 which together provide for the near instantaneous detection of nuclear explosives tests1 including all #f such tests conducted by ,north ,korea between #bjjf and #bjag2 and 7ii7 is operational #bd hours a day1 #g days a week4 7,b7 ,since the ,united ,states signed the ,,ctbt1 confidence has grown in the science-based ,stockpile ,stewardship and ,management ,plan of the ,department of ,energy1 which forms the basis of annual certifications to the ,president regarding the continual safety1 security1 and effectiveness of the ,united ,states nuclear deterrent in the absence of nuclear testing1 leading former ,secretary of ,energy ,ernest ,moniz to remark in #bjae that lab directors today now state that they certainly understand much more about how nuclear weapons work than during the period of nuclear testing4 7#g7 ,despite the progress made to reduce the number and role of1 and risks posed by1 nuclear weapons1 and to halt the ,cold ,war-era nuclear arms race1 tensions between countries that possess nuclear weapons are on the rise1 key nuclear risk reduction treaties are under threat1 significant stockpiles of weapons-usable fissile material remain1 and a qualitative global nuclear arms race is now underway with each of the countries that possess nuclear weapons spending tens of billions of dollars each year to maintain and improve their arsenals4 7#h7 ,the ,russian ,federation is pursuing the development of destabilizing types of nuclear weapons that are not presently covered under any existing arms control treaty or agreement and the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 ,india1 ,pakistan1 and the ,democratic ,people's ,republic of ,korea have each taken concerning steps to diversify their more modest sized1 but nonetheless very deadly1 nuclear arsenals4 7#i7 ,the #bjbb ,nuclear ,posture ,review was right to label the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile as no longer necessary1 as that missile1 if deployed1 would have the effect of lowering the threshold for nuclear weapons use4 7#aj7 ,on ,february #c1 #bjba1 ,president ,joseph ,r4 ,biden preserved binding and verifiable limits on the deployed and non-deployed strategic forces of the largest two nuclear weapons powers through the five-year extension of 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 referred to as the ,new ,,start ,treaty74 7#aa7 ,in #bjac1 the report on a nuclear weapons employment strategy of the ,united ,states submitted under section #dib of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 determined that it is possible to ensure the security of the ,united ,states and allies and partners of the ,united ,states and maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent while safely pursuing up to a #a_/c reduction in deployed nuclear weapons from the level established in the ,new ,,start ,treaty4 7#ab7 ,on ,january #ab1 #bjag1 then-,vice ,president ,biden stated1 ,given our non-nuclear capabilities and the nature of today's threats--it's hard to envision a plausible scenario in which the first use of nuclear weapons by the ,united ,states would be necessary4 ,or make sense44 7#ac7 ,on ,september #bc1 #bjbe1 ,president ,trump stated in front of the ,united ,nations ,general ,assembly1 ,we want to have a cessation of the development of nuclear weapons4 4 4 4 ,if we ever use them1 the world literally might come to an end44 7#ad7 ,in light of moves by the ,united ,states and other countries to increase their reliance on nuclear weapons1 a global nuclear freeze would seek to halt the new nuclear arms race by seeking conclusion of a comprehensive and verifiable freeze on the testing1 deployment1 and production of nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles for such weapons4 7#ae7 ,the reckless and repeated nuclear threats by ,russian ,president ,vladimir ,putin since the ,february #bjbb invasion of ,ukraine by the ,russian ,federation underscore the need for a global nuclear freeze4 #c4 ,statement of policy ,the following is the policy of the ,united ,states3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,states should build upon its decades long1 bipartisan efforts to reduce the number and salience of nuclear weapons by leading international negotiations on specific arms-reduction measures as part of a #bast century global nuclear freeze movement4 7#b7 ,building on the #bjba extension of the ,new ,,start ,treaty1 the ,united ,states should engage with all other countries that possess nuclear weapons to seek to negotiate and conclude future multilateral arms control1 disarmament1 and risk reduction agreements1 which should contain some or all of the following provisions3 7,a7 ,an agreement by the ,united ,states and the ,russian ,federation on a resumption of on-site inspections and verification measures per the ,new ,,start ,treaty and a follow-on treaty or agreement to the ,new ,,start ,treaty that may lower the central limits of the ,treaty and cover new kinds of strategic delivery vehicles or non-strategic nuclear weapons4 7,b7 ,an agreement on a verifiable freeze on the testing1 production1 and further deployment of all nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles for such weapons4 7,c7 ,an agreement that establishes a verifiable numerical ceiling on the deployed shorter-range and intermediate-range and strategic delivery systems 7as defined by 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 signed at ,washington ,december #h1 #aihg1 and entered into force ,june #a1 #aihh 7commonly referred to as the ,intermediate-,range ,nuclear ,forces ,treaty71 and the ,new ,,start ,treaty1 respectively7 and the nuclear warheads associated with such systems belonging to the ,p#e1 and to the extent possible1 all countries that possess nuclear weapons1 at ,august #b1 #bjai1 levels4 7,d7 ,an agreement by each country to adopt a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons or provide transparency into its nuclear declaratory policy4 7,e7 ,an agreement on a proactive ,united ,nations ,security ,council resolution that expands access by the ,international ,atomic ,energy ,agency to any country found by the ,board of ,governors of that ,agency to be noncompliant with its obligations under the ,,npt4 7,f7 ,an agreement to refrain from configuring nuclear forces in a launch on warning or launch under warning nuclear posture1 which may prompt a nuclear armed country to launch a ballistic missile attack in response to detection by an early-warning satellite or sensor of a suspected incoming ballistic missile4 7,g7 ,an agreement not to target or interfere in the nuclear command1 control1 and communications 7commonly referred to as ,,nc#c7 infrastructure of another country through a kinetic attack or a cyberattack4 7,h7 ,an agreement on transparency measures or verifiable limits1 or both1 on hypersonic cruise missiles and glide vehicles that are fired from sea-based1 ground1 and air platforms4 7,i7 ,an agreement to provide a baseline and continuous exchanges detailing the aggregate number of active nuclear weapons and associated systems possessed by each country4 7#c7 ,the ,united ,states should rejuvenate efforts in the ,united ,nations ,conference on ,disarmament toward the negotiation of a verifiable ,fissile ,material ,treaty or ,fissile ,material ,cutoff ,treaty1 or move negotiations to another international body or fora1 such as a meeting of the ,p#e4 ,successful conclusion of such a treaty would verifiably prevent any country's production of highly enriched uranium and plutonium for use in nuclear weapons4 7#d7 ,the ,united ,states should convene a series of head-of-state level summits on nuclear disarmament modeled on the ,nuclear ,security ,summits process1 which saw the elimination of the equivalent of #c1jjj nuclear weapons4 7#e7 ,the ,president should seek ratification by the ,senate of the ,,ctbt and mobilize all countries covered by ,annex #b of the ,,ctbt to pursue similar action to hasten entry into force of the ,,ctbt4 ,the entry into force of the ,,ctbt1 for which ratification by the ,united ,states will provide critical momentum1 will activate the ,,ctbt's onsite inspection provision to investigate allegations that any country that is a party to the ,,ctbt has conducted a nuclear test of any yield4 7#f7 ,the ,united ,states should-- 7,a7 refrain from developing any new designs for nuclear warheads or bombs1 but especially designs that could add a level of technical uncertainty into the ,united ,states stockpile and thus renew calls to resume nuclear explosive testing in order to test that new design2 and 7,b7 seek reciprocal commitments from other countries that possess nuclear weapons4 #d4 ,prohibition on use of funds for nuclear test explosions 7a7 ,in general ,none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal year #bjbf or any fiscal year thereafter1 or authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for any fiscal year before fiscal year #bjbf and available for obligation as of the date of the enactment of this ,act1 may be obligated or expended to conduct or make preparations for any explosive nuclear weapons test that produces any yield until such time as-- 7#a7 the ,president submits to ,congress an addendum to the report required by section #dbje of the ,atomic ,energy ,defense ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #bebe7 that details any change to the condition of the ,united ,states nuclear weapons stockpile from the report submitted under that section in the preceding year2 and 7#b7 there is enacted into law a joint resolution of ,congress that approves the test4 7b7 ,rule of construction ,subsection 7a7 does not limit nuclear stockpile stewardship activities that are consistent with the zero-yield standard and other requirements under law4