Republican lawmakers in both chambers of Congress last week introduced legislation that would cut U.S. funding to international body that oversees Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The bills, from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), would prohibit funding for the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization, with the exception of money for the organization’s International Monitoring System. Each body referred its version of the legislation to its foreign relations committee.
The International Monitoring System consists of hundreds of monitoring stations worldwide to detect underground nuclear tests, part of the CTBTO’s global verification regime that is now over 85 percent complete. The United States contributes roughly $32 million per year to the Preparatory Commission, about one-quarter of its total budget, and hosts the greatest number of IMS facilities.
The breakdown between overall Preparatory Commission contributions and IMS-specific funding was not immediately clear.
The United States is one of eight holdout nations that must ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty for it to enter into force; despite a renewed effort to promote U.S. ratification during former President Barack Obama’s two terms, the matter was not submitted for Senate consideration.
The Senate rejected CTBT ratification in 1999, arguing in part that existing technology at the time would not ensure treaty verifiability. Even so, the U.S. has maintained an informal moratorium on nuclear testing since the early 1990s.
CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo said in December he remains optimistic about his organization’s push for treaty ratification under the new Donald Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has indicated it would seek to reduce or cut its contributions to certain international organizations.
