No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to prohibit explosive nuclear testing unless Congress approves via a joint resolution after the President provides 180 days notice. It relies on compliance mandates, reporting requirements, and definition changes. The main policy areas are Nuclear Weapons Policy and Defense.
Who Benefits and How
Arms control advocates and environmental groups opposing nuclear testing could face reduced risk and State governments (particularly Nevada) - nuclear testing sites could face lower compliance burdens.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Executive Branch (President, Department of Energy, NNSA) - nuclear weapons testing authority would take on compliance duties, Congress (House and Senate Armed Services Committees) - nuclear weapons oversight would take on compliance duties, and Nuclear weapons laboratories (Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia) - testing capabilities could face higher barriers.
Key Provisions
- Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to prohibit explosive nuclear testing unless Congress approves via a joint resolution after the President provides 180 days notice.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to prohibit explosive nuclear testing unless Congress approves via a joint resolution after the President provides 180 days notice.
Key Policy Areas
Nuclear Weapons Policy, Defense
Primary Purpose
The bill amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to prohibit explosive nuclear testing unless Congress approves via a joint resolution after the President provides 180 days notice.
Policy Domains
Section 1 - Short Title
Identified Gains
- Arms control advocates and environmental groups opposing nuclear testing
- State governments (particularly Nevada) - nuclear testing sites
Identified Costs
- Executive Branch (President, Department of Energy, NNSA) - nuclear weapons testing authority
- Congress (House and Senate Armed Services Committees) - nuclear weapons oversight
- Nuclear weapons laboratories (Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia) - testing capabilities
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Horsford (for himself and Ms. Lee of Nevada) introduced …
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congress (House and Senate Armed Services Committees) - nuclear weapons oversight, Executive Branch (President, Department of Energy, NNSA) - nuclear weapons testing authority, State governments (particularly Nevada) - nuclear testing sites
Positive-direction: Congress (House and Senate Armed Services Committees) - nuclear weapons oversight, State governments (particularly Nevada) - nuclear testing sites
Negative-direction: Executive Branch (President, Department of Energy, NNSA) - nuclear weapons testing authority
Nuclear weapons laboratories (Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia) - testing capabilities
Arms control advocates and environmental groups opposing nuclear testing
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "congress"
- → United States Congress
- "the_committee"
- → Committee on Armed Services (House and Senate)
- "the_president"
- → President of the United States
- "officials_specified"
- → Officials specified in section 4205(b) of Atomic Energy Defense Act (nuclear weapons council members)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A joint resolution of either House of Congress with specific language approving the President's proposal to conduct explosive nuclear testing for which there is a technical need
Testing involving the explosive compression or assembly of fissile material to exceed critical mass with the attendant release of any nuclear energy from fission processes; excludes subcritical experiments, laser fusion experiments, and other inertial confinement fusion experiments
All officials specified in section 4205(b) determine that an explosive nuclear test is necessary to resolve an issue with respect to the safety, reliability, performance, or military effectiveness of a nuclear weapon type
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