U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on Wednesday introduced exceptionally short legislation that would prevent the United States from initiating a nuclear first strike against a foe.
The bill has just one section, which reads in total: “Section 1. Policy on No-First-Use of Nuclear Weapons. It is the policy of the United States to not use nuclear weapons first.”
“The United States should not use nuclear arms in a first strike,” Smith, ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a prepared statement. “They are instruments of deterrence, and they should be treated as such. A declaratory policy of not using nuclear weapons first will increase strategic stability, particularly in a crisis, reducing the risk of miscalculation that could lead to an unintended all-out nuclear war.”
Near the end of his term, former President Barack Obama reportedly considered changing U.S. policy that allows for nuclear first strikes, but never followed through. Reports in late 2016 indicated there was opposition to such a move from top members of Obama’s Cabinet and U.S. allies including Japan and the United Kingdom.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have expressed concerns about President Donald Trump’s power to alone order a nuclear launch, and legislation filed in both chambers earlier this year by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) would require congressional authorization for a nuclear first strike.
In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday, former U.S. officials cautioned against restricting the president’s authority on use of nuclear weapons.
It was not immediately clear Wednesday afternoon how many lawmakers had signed onto Smith’s bill, or to which committee it was directed. Nonetheless, it was quickly lauded by a number of nonproliferation organizations.
“@RepAdamSmith introduced a #NoFirstUse bill today, elegant in its simplicity and intelligence,” the Ploughshares Fund said on Twitter.
