Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (October 30, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), co-chair of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, released the following statement after President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Defense (DoD) to “start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis” with other countries. Senator Markey is introducing the No Nuclear Testing Act, which would use Congress’s power of the purse to deny the Trump administration from restarting nuclear testing.

“If President Trump resumes U.S. nuclear testing, it will be a mistake of radioactive proportions,” said Senator Markey. “The United States has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992, and there is absolutely no need to resume. A Trumpatomics plan would provoke Russia and China to resume nuclear testing, and China in particular has much more to gain from this than does the United States. This is a reckless directive from Trump that will only make the country and the world less safe and lead to a terrible new nuclear arms race.

“The No Nuclear Testing Act would use Congress’s power of the purse to deny the Trump administration from restarting nuclear testing. We should not simply ignore the terrible lessons of the Cold and expose a new generation of Americans to the horrors of radiation sickness. We will not learn anything new about the nuclear stockpile from new tests; we will only endanger our health and security.

“The Senate should also ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which has now been ratified by 178 nations. In addition, Congress should pass my bill to prevent the first use of nuclear weapons without congressional approval. We cannot allow Trump or any one individual to lead us down a path toward nuclear annihilation. Lastly, the United States must work to replace the New START nuclear weapons reduction treaty with Russia that expires in 100 days.”

As a founder of the national Nuclear Freeze movement, Senator Markey has worked to end the proliferation of nuclear weapons since the beginning of his career.

• In 1986, then-Representative Markey co-authored an amendment that passed in the House of Representatives to establish a moratorium on all nuclear tests in excess of one kiloton, provided the Soviet Union observed similar limits. This provision laid a vital foundation for the subsequent moratorium on all U.S. nuclear tests and for the negotiation of the CTBT.
• In May 2020, in response to fears of a return to nuclear testing, Senator Markey sent a letter to President Donald Trump arguing there was no justification to restart nuclear testing.

Senator Markey has long been a champion pushing for deep and verifiable reductions in nuclear arsenals.

• This week, Senator Markey published an op-ed detailing the accuracy with which director Kathryn Bigelow’s new film, “A House of Dynamite,” presents the dangers of nuclear war and the risks of depending on unreliable missile defenses at the expense of a nuclear security policy centered on arms reduction and non-proliferation.
• In July, Senator Markey introduced the Senate companion to H.Res.317, urging the United States to lead the world in halting the nuclear arms race.
• In February, Senator Markey introduced a resolution to recommit the United States to arms control, one year ahead of the expiration of New START.
• In January, Senator Markey reintroduced a bill with Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) to ensure that no president can start a nuclear war without congressional approval.

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