To regulate the use of nuclear weapons by the United States Armed Forces, all other US personnel, agents and contractors.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the 'Nuclear Weapons Employment Act'

Sec. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE

(a) Findings - Congress finds the following

(1) Employment of nuclear weapons would be an act of extraordinarily high political consequences, and the belligerent that initiates nuclear warfare may find itself the target of world condemnation especially if the opponent is a non-nuclear-weapon state.

(2) The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would be severely undermined and many non-nuclear nations that are signatories today are likely to withdraw from it if the United States uses a nuclear weapon against a non-nuclear weapon state.

(3) Wholesale abandonment of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by many nations is likely to lead to widespread nuclear proliferation, which would both severely harm the safety of the world and the security interests of the United States.

(4) A clear declaration by the United States that it will not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states would strengthen the NPT, provide a clear incentive for non-nuclear-weapon states to remain non-nuclear, and for nuclear-weapon-states to reduce their reliance on nuclear weapons or to become non-nuclear-weapon states.

(5) The Nuclear Posture of the United States adopted in 2001 contemplates that the United States may use nuclear weapons against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attacks. It also calls for the integration of conventional and nuclear attacks. The National Security Strategy of 2006 envisions the preemptive use of force by the United States. These policies taken together pave the way for the United States to make preemptive use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, an action that would be detrimental to the United States.

(6) Crossing the nuclear threshold, even with a low-yield nuclear weapon, would erase the 60-year-old taboo against the use of nuclear weapons, which in turn would encourage the use of nuclear weapons by others.

(7) Weight for weight, the energy produced by a nuclear explosion is millions of times more powerful than a conventional explosion. An escalating nuclear war could lead to the destruction of civilization.

(b) Purpose - The purpose of this act is:

To affirm Congress' authority and responsibility under Article I, Sect. 8, Clause 14 of the US Constitution, to make rules for the government and regulation of the use of nuclear weapons by the United States Armed Forces, as well as by all other U.S. personnel, agents and contractors. This responsibility is also vested to Congress under the Constitution Article I, Sect. 8, Clause 1, "provide for the common Defence"; Clause 10, "to define and punish ... Offences against the Law of Nations"; Clause 11, "To declare War"; Clause 12, "To raise and support Armies"; Clause 18, "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers".

Sec. 3. PROHIBITION OF USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AGAINST NON-NUCLEAR-WEAPON STATES

Neither the United States Armed Forces, nor any other U.S. personnel, agents or contractors, shall use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear-weapon state under any circumstances.

Sec. 4. INTERPRETATION

(a) This act is not intended to prevent the President from ordering the use of nuclear weapons against a nuclear weapon state pursuant to an act of Congress or to his constitutional powers.

(b) This act cannot be repealed by implication.

Sec. 5. DEFINITIONS

(a) A nuclear weapon state is either:

(i) A state that has conducted a test with nuclear weapons. As of the date of this bill, nuclear weapon states under this definition are the United States, Russia, China, France, England, India, Pakistan and North Korea.
(ii) A state that has declared itself to be a nuclear weapon state.
(iii) A state that the US Congress explicitly designates as a nuclear-weapon-state. That determination shall be made after legislators have reviewed all available evidence presented by the US Government and by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The designation shall require a majority vote of both chambers, and is subject to Presidential veto. The designation shall remain in force until revoked by majority vote of both chambers, also subject to Presidential veto.

A non-nuclear-weapon state is a state not included in either of categories (i), (ii), (iii).

(b) A nuclear weapon is: a weapon that derives its energy from the splitting (fission) or combination (fusion) of atomic nuclei.