McAdams Signs Onto Bill to Stop Resumption of Explosive Nuclear Weapons Testing

Press Release

Congressman Ben McAdams is supporting legislation to prevent the Trump Administration from restarting explosive nuclear weapons testing. The Preserving Leadership Against Nuclear Explosives Testing (PLANET) Act (H.R. 7140) has been introduced by Nevada Representatives Dina Titus and Steven Horsford in response to the administration's discussed plan to re-start nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site.

The last of more than 1,000 atomic weapons tests occurred on Sept. 23, 1992, when a 20- kiloton underground blast took place.

"Never again should Americans' health and safety be at risk from deadly radioactive fallout. We continue to pay dearly for trusting the government to protect us from past nuclear weapons testing and I am committed to stopping this dangerous and unnecessary scheme," said McAdams. "At a time when thousands of Utahns are still suffering and dying from radiation exposure-related cancers and other diseases, this is unconscionable."

Over the last two decades, the Secretaries of Defense and Energy in both Republican and Democratic administrations have annually certified that the U.S. stockpile is effective and secure. The Department of Energy's nuclear lab directors have assessed that the federal government knows more about its nuclear stockpile through the Stockpile Stewardship Program than it did during the era of testing.

McAdams said the PLANET Act would:

- Prohibit the use of funds appropriated in fiscal year 2021 or from any previous year to prepare for or to conduct an explosive nuclear test that produces any yield
- Allow for stockpile stewardship activities that are consistent with U.S. law -- such as certifying the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, so long as those activities are consistent with the "zero-yield" scope of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

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