The "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Conversion Act of 2025" redirects funding from nuclear weapons programs to clean energy, economic revitalization, and infrastructure projects, contingent on the verified global elimination of nuclear weapons.
Eleanor Norton
Representative
DC
The "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Conversion Act of 2025" expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. should take a leading role in the global elimination of nuclear weapons. Once all nuclear-weapon states verifiably commit to eliminating their arsenals, the bill redirects funding from nuclear weapons programs towards clean energy development, economic conversion, and addressing critical human and infrastructure needs. This includes retraining nuclear industry employees and environmental restoration.
Proposed 2025 Act Ties Nuclear Abolition to Global Disarmament, Redirects Funds to Climate and Social Needs
This bill, the "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Conversion Act of 2025," sets a specific course for the U.S. regarding nuclear weapons. It proposes that the U.S. sign and eventually ratify the international Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. However, there's a big condition attached: ratification only happens once all countries with nuclear weapons verifiably get rid of theirs under strict international control, as outlined in the treaty.
The Grand Bargain: Disarm and Reinvest
The core idea here is a major shift in national priorities, but only if global nuclear disarmament becomes a reality. Section 3 lays out a plan to redirect funds currently used for nuclear weapons programs. Where would that money go? The bill targets several key areas:
- Climate and Energy: Developing clean, renewable energy sources.
- Economic Conversion: Transforming former nuclear weapons facilities for new purposes and retraining workers from the nuclear industry.
- Human and Infrastructure Needs: Boosting funding for healthcare, housing, education, agriculture, and environmental cleanup, including monitoring radioactive waste.
This massive budget reallocation hinges entirely on a future Presidential certification. The President would need to confirm that every nation possessing nuclear weapons has started a verifiable and irreversible process to eliminate them, following the terms of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The Global Condition: Getting Everyone On Board
Let's be clear: the bill's most ambitious goals—abolition and funding shifts—depend completely on achieving worldwide, verifiable nuclear disarmament first. Section 2 explicitly states Congress's view that the U.S. should work with other nuclear-armed nations toward this goal. The practical challenge lies in achieving that universal agreement and establishing a verification system that all parties trust to ensure disarmament is permanent and complete. Until that global milestone is reached and certified by the President, the funding shifts detailed in Section 3 remain on hold.