HOUSE PASSES NUCLEAR TERRORISM BILL

The House last night passed by a vote of 390-3 the “Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2013,” a bill necessary for U.S. implementation of amendments to two international treaties aimed at curbing nuclear terrorism. Addressing some acts not covered by current anti-terrorism laws, the bill addresses possessing radioactive or nuclear material with the intent to use it for harmful purposes as well as acts involving damage to a nuclear facility, filling in holes between U.S. law and the guidelines set by the 2005 International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and the 2005 amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. The treaties were approved by the Senate in 2008, but the Senate must still approve the legislation before President Obama can deposit the articles of ratification for the two pacts.