Bill Text: IA HR119 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A resolution urging Iowa’s congressional delegation to take all necessary measures to limit the authority of any President of the United States to order a preemptive launch of nuclear weapons.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (N/A - Dead) 2018-05-01 - Laid over under Rule 25. H.J. 903. [HR119 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-HR119-Introduced.html

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House Resolution 119 - Introduced

PAG LIN




                    HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.    
                            BY  ANDERSON
  1  1 A Resolution urging Iowa's congressional delegation to
  1  2    take all necessary measures to limit the authority
  1  3    of any President of the United States to order a
  1  4    preemptive launch of nuclear weapons.
  1  5    WHEREAS, there are over 15,000 nuclear weapons
  1  6 globally, most of which are possessed by the United
  1  7 States and Russia, and most of which are significantly
  1  8 more destructive than those dropped on Hiroshima and
  1  9 Nagasaki, Japan, during Word War II; and
  1 10    WHEREAS, use and detonation of even a small number
  1 11 of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic human,
  1 12 environmental, and economic consequences globally,
  1 13 impacting everyone on the planet; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, the first use of nuclear weapons, including
  1 15 by the United States, against any other nuclear=armed
  1 16 nation could result in that nation's immediate
  1 17 retaliation and invite the near=total destruction of
  1 18 the United States, including the state of Iowa; and
  1 19    WHEREAS, according to projections using blast radius
  1 20 and ambient population data, compiled by Assistant
  1 21 Professor Alex Wellerstein of the Stevens Institute of
  1 22 Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, a single nuclear
  1 23 detonation in Chicago, Illinois, would cause upwards of
  1 24 2,767,440 fatalities, 2,089,050 injuries, and affect
  1 25 7,687,045 people within range of the detonation in the
  1 26 first 24 hours, including many Iowans; and
  1 27    WHEREAS, the citizens of Iowa deserve to live a life
  1 28 free from the threat of the reckless use of nuclear
  2  1 weapons; and
  2  2    WHEREAS, development, maintenance, and storage of
  2  3 nuclear weapons drain precious taxpayer resources
  2  4 while failing to make Iowa and the nation safer
  2  5 from 21st century national security concerns such as
  2  6 cyberattacks, terrorism, and climate change; and
  2  7    WHEREAS, religious and military leaders, nuclear
  2  8 experts, and over 300 former heads of state from around
  2  9 the world have called for urgent action to eliminate
  2 10 all nuclear weapons globally; and
  2 11    WHEREAS, every President of the United States since
  2 12 President Ronald Reagan has worked to reduce global
  2 13 nuclear stockpiles in an effort to ultimately eliminate
  2 14 these weapons of mass destruction; and
  2 15    WHEREAS, President Donald Trump has repeatedly
  2 16 questioned why the United States cannot use nuclear
  2 17 weapons and called for a major nuclear buildup,
  2 18 which will incite other countries to do the same and
  2 19 dramatically increase the risks of nuclear war; and
  2 20    WHEREAS, according to a Congressional Budget
  2 21 Office report, the United States is expected to spend
  2 22 $1 trillion over the next 30 years to upgrade its
  2 23 nuclear arsenal, money that could be better spent to
  2 24 improve education, health care, job creation, and
  2 25 infrastructure; and
  2 26    WHEREAS, a President of the United States has the
  2 27 sole and unilateral power to launch a nuclear war
  2 28 without any consultation with congressional leaders
  2 29 and without any system of checks and balances to the
  2 30 exercise of this power; NOW THEREFORE,
  3  1 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  3  2 That the Iowa House of Representatives urges Iowa's
  3  3 congressional delegation to take all necessary steps
  3  4 to establish a system of checks and balances on the
  3  5 preemptive use of nuclear weapons to ensure that a
  3  6 President of the Untied States will not have sole and
  3  7 unchecked authority to launch nuclear weapons, except
  3  8 in circumstances of retaliation for an attack on the
  3  9 United States.
       LSB 5419HH (5) 87
       js/rj