Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) introduced a bill last week to prohibit the United States from conducting explosive nuclear tests, a move aimed at countering recently-announced plans of President Donald Trump.
The bill was proposed shortly after Trump announced he has directed the Pentagon to resume nuclear testing on pace with other countries.
“Donald Trump has put his own ego and authoritarian ambitions above the health and safety of Nevadans,” Titus said in a press release for the “Renewing Efforts to Suspend Testing and Reinforce Arms Control Initiatives Now (RESTRAIN) Act.” “His announcement to resume nuclear testing in the United States goes against the arms control and nonproliferation treaties that the U.S. has spearheaded since the end of the Cold War, and will trigger new tests by Russia and China, reigniting an international arms race.”
CNN reported that at a meeting with Russia’s security council on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said if the U.S. started nuclear tests again, “Russia would also have to take appropriate and proportionate responsive measures. A Kremlin spokesperson said as of now nothing has been decided and Russia is still “bound by our obligations on the overall ban of nuclear tests.”
Titus added that resuming testing “also puts Nevadans back in the crosshairs of toxic radiation and environmental destruction.”
The RESTRAIN Act would work by amending U.S. code to include a prohibition of explosive nuclear testing, and also prevent funding from going toward explosive nuclear testing efforts. “With just 97 days until the only arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia expires, now should be the time to negotiate further arms-control agreements, not create mushroom clouds in the Nevada desert,” Titus added.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a scientific nonproliferation nonprofit, endorsed the bill Wednesday of this week.