Rosen, Cortez Masto, Western Senate Colleagues Introduce Bill to Stop President Trump’s Reckless Plans to Resume Explosive Nuclear Testing in Nevada

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and their western senate colleagues introduced legislation to ensure that no president can unilaterally resume explosive nuclear testing. The No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act would require Congressional approval to restart any explosive nuclear tests. The bill would require President Trump, or any future administration, to show Congress proof of engagement with the state in which the tests would be conducted.

Last week, President Trump said that the United States would begin testing nuclear weapons again, resuming a dangerous practice that the country abandoned in 1992. The only place the United States could conduct an explosive nuclear weapon test is at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), 60 miles outside of Las Vegas. The federal government already conducts robust non-explosive nuclear tests, and experts believe that returning to costly, dangerous explosive testing is wholly unnecessary.

"Nevadans are still dealing with the fallout of explosive nuclear testing conducted during the Cold War era and the radiation unleashed in our state. Donald Trump's directive to resume nuclear testing is reckless, unnecessary, and dangerous," said Senator Rosen. "Senator Cortez Masto and I are introducing this legislation to require congressional approval for any and all future explosive nuclear weapons testing. A decision of this magnitude should not be made lightly or on a whim by an erratic President."

"Nevadans were blindsided when President Trump said he could revive the outdated, misguided practice of detonating nuclear weapons just 60 miles from my hometown of Las Vegas," said Senator Cortez Masto. "No administration should have the authority to set off nuclear bombs on American soil without any oversight or outreach to the states that would bear the burden of these dangerous tests."

This year, Senator Rosen has led the fight to prevent the resumption of explosive nuclear testing in Nevada. This week, she led the Nevada Congressional delegation in sending two letters to the Trump Administration expressing their outrage over the President's directive to resume nuclear testing. She also secured promises from several Trump administration officials during their confirmation hearings to not resume nuclear testing. These included National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Brandon Williams, Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Vice Admiral Scott Pappano (Ret.), and the nominee to be National Nuclear Security Administration Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Dave Beck.

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