"The consequences will be unpredictable": will the US Senate approve an amendment banning nuclear tests

The US House of Representatives has passed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which prohibits the allocation of funds for nuclear tests with any level of radioactive emissions.

The author of the amendment, Congressman from Utah Ben McAdams wrote about this on Twitter.

PASSED- My amendment in a defense bill to stop future nuclear weapons testing passed today. The Administration has discussed resuming the tests. I am acting now to ensure the test do not reoccur, further harming Utahns living downwind. #utpolhttps: //t.co/xkxRMdRlJj

“Thousands of Utah residents are still struggling to recover from the trauma of past decades of bombs that left behind a legacy of disease, suffering and death. Why do we need to follow the same path again? "- said earlier the congressman, speaking in the House of Representatives in support of his initiative.

Utah has had a higher incidence of cancer and other serious illnesses over the generations due to dangerous radiation exposure, the politician said, leading to the premature death of thousands of people.

“It is our moral duty to prevent our citizens from being harmed even more,” he said.

Nuclear hawks

227 congressmen voted for the amendment, 179 voted against it. Mostly the bill found support from the congressmen-democrats. However, two representatives of the Democratic Party - Elissa Slotkin (previously a politician worked in the Pentagon) and Henry Cuellar, representing Texas, voted against the initiative. At the same time, one Republican Congressman, Brian Fitzpatrick, spoke out in support of the proposed amendment.

Another opponent of the restrictions, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Republican Mac Thornberry, said a ban on nuclear testing could negatively affect defense capabilities.

“We need to be on alert. The more difficult it will be for us to conduct tests if necessary, the more obstacles we create along the way, the less confidence our nuclear deterrent forces will deserve, ”the Congressman said.

• Launching an intercontinental ballistic missile
• Reuters
• © US Air Force / Senior Airman Ian Dudley / Handout

An amendment banning such tests can enter into force if supported by the upper house of Congress.

As Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in an interview with RT, it is highly likely that the amendment adopted by the House of Representatives will not be able to pass the Senate.

“There are many hawks in the Senate who oppose the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. They believe that America should resume testing in order to keep up with Russia and China, ”the expert explained.

A similar point of view is shared by the corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences, political scientist Sergei Sudakov.

“Democrats believe that the build-up of the“ nuclear fist ”is not beneficial for the United States. But this amendment is unlikely to be included in the final text of the defense budget. The point is not only the military and political motives of the Republicans, but also the financial side of the issue. Lobbyists who represent military research structures are interested in the beginning of such tests. The latter will receive additional funding if testing is resumed, ”the expert explained in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, earlier the Senate Armed Services Committee proposed to reserve an amount of $ 10 million in the defense budget for projects related to nuclear tests. The initiative came from Senator Tom Cotton. This was reported in mid-June by The Hill. The senator explained his position as a lack of confidence in the Chinese Communist Party. According to the legislator, Beijing is modernizing its nuclear arsenal while Washington itself constrains its nuclear capabilities.

The amendment, proposed by Cotton, has already been included in the version of the US defense budget pending in the Senate.

The threat of a resumption of nuclear weapons testing is causing great concern in American society. Earlier, about 70 American scientists sent an open letter to Donald Trump urging not to resume nuclear tests. Among the signatories of the appeal were several Nobel laureates. According to the scientific community, nuclear weapons testing could increase the likelihood of a new nuclear arms race in the world.

Earlier, representatives of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives submitted another bill to Congress, blocking the possibility of resuming nuclear tests in the United States.

According to the author of the document, Congresswoman from Nevada Dina Titus, the purpose of the bill is to prevent President Trump from testing nuclear weapons and block the allocation of funds for the creation of a nuclear waste storage facility in Yucca Mountain.

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It should be noted that Congress is also considering a bill limiting the possibility of nuclear testing.

In early June, Democratic Senator Ed Markey made such an initiative. The document he developed is called the Preserving Leadership Against Nuclear Explosives Testing (PLANET) Act and is intended to limit the Trump administration's access to budgetary funds for nuclear tests.

"A return of the United States to nuclear testing would mean a loss of respect for the lessons of the Cold War and would expose a whole new generation of Americans to the horrors of radiation sickness," said Senator Markey, commenting on the initiative.

Note that earlier Senator Ed Markey demanded to curtail the Pentagon's program to create low-yield nuclear warheads for sea-based Trident D5 ballistic missiles. Stamps supported in 2018 a bill by Congressmen from the Democratic Party, prohibiting such developments. According to the Democrats, the creation of nuclear charges of reduced power can lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

Balance hit

Recall that the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996. The document was signed by 184 countries, of which 168 have ratified it. Nevertheless, the document has not yet entered into force, since five countries - the United States, China, Egypt, Israel and Iran - have not ratified the treaty.

The Russian side calls on Washington to ratify the treaty. However, the US accuses Russia of violating the agreement that has not entered into force. Last year, the head of the Pentagon's military intelligence agency, Colonel General Robert Ashley Jr., made such accusations. As the military said, the United States believes that Russia allegedly violates the moratorium on nuclear tests. 

• Donald Trump
• Reuters
• © Leah Millis

Commenting on these accusations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted that this is a propaganda "artillery preparation" for the US to undermine the CTBT. 

The discussion around the CTBT received a new impetus in May 2020 after The Washington Post announced the White House's plans to begin nuclear tests. The newspaper referred to unnamed sources, but a few days after the publication of the acting. Drew Walter, Pentagon Assistant to the Head of the Pentagon for Nuclear Affairs, said that Washington is ready to begin nuclear tests within a few months, if the country's president gives the appropriate order. 

According to experts, the Pentagon has a need to resume nuclear testing.

“The US plans to create a qualitatively new nuclear weapon - warheads of lower power and greater mobility, capable of accurately hitting targets. Hypothetical computer experiments are not enough for this, so the Americans started talking about the resumption of tests, ”said Sergey Sudakov.

As Vladimir Batyuk recalled, so far the decision to conduct such tests has not yet been made by the US authorities.

“So far, technologies are being used that allow work in the nuclear field that do not lead to a nuclear chain reaction. Although the military and politicians have been talking a lot about testing to a critical level recently, ”the expert noted.

These reports have led to the fact that the Russian side has concerns that the United States plans to abandon the moratorium on nuclear testing. The corresponding statement was made by the Russian Foreign Ministry. 

According to experts, the resumption of nuclear weapons testing in the United States will be a heavy blow to international security.

“If this happens, the consequences will be grave and unpredictable. It cannot be ruled out that a number of states will decide that the nuclear weapons control system has been completely broken. And this will provoke the growth of nuclear weapons in the world, ”said Vladimir Batyuk.

Sergey Sudakov adheres to a similar point of view.

“The resumption of nuclear tests will negatively affect international security. The balance of power on the planet will begin to change due to the desire of the United States to create massive tactical nuclear weapons, ”the expert concluded.