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1 1 (December 16, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goversf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Tests The United States has observed a voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing since 1992, although it has maintained the ability to resume these tests at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Since 1993, it has used a program known as Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship to maintain confidence in the safety, security, and effectiveness of its nuclear arsenal. Press reports in May 2020 indicated that Trump Administration officials had discussed whether to conduct an explosive test of a U.S. nuclear weapon. Since then, the Trump Administration and subsequent Biden Administration statements have reaffirmed the moratorium. In an August 2024 video, the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security (NNSA) Administrator stated that the United States has no technical reasons to conduct nuclear tests. Some analysts have expressed concerns that NNSA development of new warhead designs could result in demands to resume explosive testing. Congress may continue to face these issues as it considers authorizing and appropriating funds for the stockpile stewardship program, as well as modernization of the nuclear security enterprise. Limits on U.S. Nuclear Tests By its own count, the United States conducted 1,054 explosive nuclear tests between 1945 and 1992. Of these, NNSS hosted 928 tests, including 100 atmospheric tests. In 1990, Congress created a program to compensate some individuals whose health may have been affected by this testing. DOE also engages in environmental remediation at NNSS. The United States has been a party since 1963 to the Limited Test Ban Treaty, under which it is obligated to refrain from conducting nuclear weapons test explosions in the atmosphere, outer space, or under water. The United States is also party to the Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 1974, which bans underground nuclear weapons tests having an explosive force of more than 150 kilotons. In 1992, Congress passed and President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Hatfield-Exon-Mitchell Amendment establishing a temporary unilateral moratorium on underground nuclear testing (P.L. 102-377, §507). The United States then participated in negotiations on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This multilateral treaty, which opened for signature in 1996, would ban all nuclear explosions. President Clinton signed and submitted the treaty to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification in 1997. Amid expressions of concern among some Members of Congress about CTBT's potential national security implications, the Senate rejected the treaty on October 13, 1999, by a vote of 48 for, 51 against, and 1 present. Updated December 16, 2024 As of December 2024, 187 states parties had signed the CTBT and 178 had ratified it. The treaty's entry into force requires ratification by 44 specific states listed in the CTBT. Of the 44 required states, 36 have ratified, 3 have not signed (India, North Korea, and Pakistan), and another 5 have not ratified (China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the United States). Russia revoked its ratification of the treaty in November 2023. In the years since the treaty opened for signature, India, Pakistan, and North Korea have conducted explosive nuclear tests. Although the CTBT has not entered into force, each subsequent U.S. President has indicated that the United States will continue to observe the unilateral moratorium. The Trump Administration's 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) stated, The United States will not resume nuclear explosive testing unless necessary to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and calls on all states possessing nuclear weapons to declare or maintain a moratorium on nuclear testing. The Biden Administration's 2022 NPR stated, Consistent with the goals of the CTBT, the United States continues to observe a moratorium on nuclear explosive testing and calls on all states possessing nuclear weapons to declare or maintain such a moratorium. The CTBT contains a zero-yield standard, which requires states to refrain from conducting any test that produces a self-sustaining, supercritical chain reaction of any kind, according to a 2019 U.S. State Department report. Such a reaction is necessary for a nuclear detonation. Neither the CTBT nor the U.S. unilateral test moratorium prohibits subcritical experiments (i.e., those that do not produce a nuclear yield). Foreign Countries The United Kingdom and France also adhere to a zero-yield nuclear testing standard in line with their CTBT commitments. U.S. government official statements and reports to Congress have questioned the Russian Federation's and the People's Republic of China (PRC's) adherence to their respective testing moratoria and the zero- yield standard. The unclassified 2024 version of the State Department's annual arms control Compliance Report to Congress notes concerns due to the lack of transparency with regard to their respective nuclear testing activities and previously identified adherence issues. Since 2019 this report has stated that Russia had previously conducted nuclear weapons-related experiments with more than zero yield. Department of Defense statements and reports outline PRC efforts to expand its nuclear warhead research, development, testing, and production capacity to support the size and pace of its nuclear stockpile expansion, as

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