Nuclear Forensics And Attribution Act

Floor Speech

Nuclear Forensics And Attribution Act

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 730, the Nuclear Forensic and Attribution Act. This act deals with the process of determining the source of confiscated nuclear material. It is a necessary component of our defense as it could deter states from aiding terrorists' efforts to carry out nuclear terrorism.

One need only look to the A.Q. Khan network and its proliferation to Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, to know how important this bill and this provision is.

In the last Congress we held hearings on this bill in the Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity and Science and Technology Subcommittee, which I was the ranking member. I would like to thank my good friend, Mr. Schiff, for working in a bipartisan manner to incorporate some of our suggestions, including a provision that I requested to provide scholarships and fellowships for those pursuing careers in technical nuclear forensics. As we all know, America needs to incentivize more young people to go into highly technical professions such as these. The workforce involved in nuclear forensics, in particular, has been evaporating for the past 30 years. Without a qualified workforce, we cannot attain the level of preparedness we need.

This bill will reinvigorate the workforce pipeline to guarantee the Nation a resource of technical experts in this critical field, and strengthen America's attribution capabilities. To ensure a worthwhile return on public investment, the bill mandates a 2-year commitment of service within the Federal technical nuclear forensics workforce after graduation for fellows of the scholarship program.

Again, I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Schiff, for introducing this important legislation and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source