Nuclear Testing Opposition

Floor Speech

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Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my opposition to President Trump's announcement that the United States will resume explosive nuclear testing.

Nevada was the focal point of nuclear development during the Cold War. Over four decades, the Nevada Test Site, which is located just 100 miles north of Las Vegas, hosted over 900 nuclear tests, more than any other place in the country. Throughout the 1950s, visible mushroom clouds often rose over the desert and could be seen in the distance by people who came to enjoy all Las Vegas had to offer.

These tests were conducted to better understand the powers and effects of nuclear weapons, and the site played a major role in shaping national and international policies involving nuclear testing and nonproliferation.

The radiation, however, given off by the more than 100 atmospheric tests had devastating impacts on those downwind. The fallout caused cancer and premature deaths for thousands across the Southwest. That is why earlier this year, I introduced the PRESUME Act, which would ensure that radiation-exposed veterans who had been exposed to this radiation would receive their rightful benefits from the VA.

In addition, the 800 underground tests sometimes vented, letting out radioactive contaminants into the air and the groundwater supply. These are problems we are still dealing with today. Radioactivity levels in the water are declining over time, but elements such as plutonium and uranium are likely to pose risks for thousands of years.

You may remember in 2020, the first Trump administration called for a resumption of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. This was in breach of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Back then, in response to that, I led the charge to the FY21 NDAA process to ensure that nuclear testing would not be resurrected in the U.S., but ``the more things change, the more they stay the same''; ``plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.''

On October 29, just this year, Trump announced that he is directing the Department of Defense to resume nuclear testing in a disastrous but not surprising policy reversal. This is because it is mentioned in Project 2025.

On page 399 of Project 2025, which is the blueprint for the Trump administration, you see a call for the rejection of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. This would not only allow nuclear testing here at home but will give the green light to countries around the world to resume and do the same.

The result would put us on a collision course of catastrophic proportions with Russia and China. It would undermine the entire arms control regime, and it would allow proliferation of these weapons into nonnuclear states. At the same time, it would, again, put the health of Nevadans in jeopardy.

In fact, we have already seen that Putin has directed his forces to prepare to resume nuclear testing. Just this week, The Washington Post reported that China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its infrastructure at the nuclear testing site in Xinjiang province.

There is no technical, national security, or political reason for the U.S. to resume nuclear testing. At the test site, we already do groundbreaking experiments and simulations with our existing stockpile to make sure our arsenal is safe, secure, and reliable. All this is done without any explosion. It is a scientific experiment called subcritical and is far more helpful to understanding how the weapon will perform than setting off an explosion in the desert.

Our leadership on arms control and nonproliferation has clearly come to an end, and the world is becoming a more dangerous place. Note: For the first time ever, the U.S. was the only country to vote ``no'' on a recent U.N. resolution supporting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. You know, not even North Korea voted ``no'' on this provision, so what kind of signal does that send?

Amidst all this nuclear testing saber-rattling, the New START Treaty, which is the only remaining arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, is set to expire in just 77 days.

For these reasons, I have introduced the Renewing Efforts to Suspend Testing and Reinforce Arms Control Initiative Now, the RESTRAIN Act. This would prohibit the resumption of nuclear testing. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this and getting this passed before we begin another arms race.

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