Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act
NUCLEAR FORENSICS AND ATTRIBUTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - June 18, 2008)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 2631, the Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act, was introduced last year by the gentleman from California, Congressman Schiff. It was marked up and adopted unanimously by the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology in October 2007. The full committee approved it unanimously on May 20 of this year.
I would like to congratulate Congressman Schiff and thank Subcommittee Chairman Langevin and Ranking Member McCaul for their work in getting the bill to the floor today.
Like the other homeland security measures we are considering today, I strongly believe that H.R. 2631 ties in with the DHS authorization legislation that the House approved last spring, H.R. 1684, and is still pending before the Senate.
We know that our enemies, both terrorists and rogue nations, are interested in developing and using nuclear and radiological weapons. In the case of an attempted or, heaven forbid, a successful nuclear or radiological attack, rapid attribution is critical. Our government must have the capability to quickly determine the source of nuclear material so that the key decision-makers have information needed to respond.
Certainly, if the terrorists know that we have a nuclear forensic capability that can pinpoint their role in creating a bomb, they're bound to have second thoughts. The deterrent effect of a robust nuclear forensic capability is enormous.
Unfortunately, today the U.S. must rely on expertise and technology developed during the Cold War to address the emerging threats of a nuclear ``dirty'' bomb. The nuclear weapons work force is aging, just as its mission has shifted from traditional deterrence policy to the more complicated challenge of containing the threats posed by terrorists and rogue nations. Our Nation's capability in the scientific fields of radiochemistry and geochemistry must be fostered to meet this new threat. This is the purpose of this bill.
H.R. 2631 expresses the sense of Congress that the President should pursue international agreements and develop protocols to share sensitive information needed to identify the source of a nuclear detonation.
It also tasks the Secretary of Homeland Security with the mission of developing methods to attribute nuclear and radiological material, both within the Department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, and in partnership with other Federal agencies.
The legislation, as amended in committee, emphasizes that development of a robust nuclear forensics capability depends chiefly on an expertly trained work force in this area, and provides support for educational programs relevant to nuclear forensics.
H.R. 2631 also authorizes the National Technical Nuclear Forensic Center, which will be responsible for providing centralized planning, assessment and integration of all Federal nuclear forensic activities; requires the Secretary to report annually to Congress on the Federal Government's efforts to enhance its nuclear forensic capability, including the status of work force development programs, and authorizes $30 million per year for the next 3 fiscal years for this effort.
H.R. 2631 continues this committee's practices of authorizing programs and offices within DHS that are of value to the agency's mission, so as to assure that the work can continue and progress can be achieved in the years to come.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source