Watch Senator Rosen’s full exchange HERE.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, during a confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee for the nominee to be Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) slammed President Trump for his reckless plans to resume explosive nuclear weapons testing on American soil. During the nuclear testing era, millions of people and acres of land were contaminated by radiation, and Nevada is still suffering the consequences. Since President George H.W. Bush signed the testing moratorium in 1992, the Nevada National Security Sites has safely conducted non-explosive experiments to certify the reliability, safety, and effectiveness of our nuclear stockpile.
This year, Senator Rosen has led the fight to prevent the resumption of explosive nuclear testing in Nevada. She secured promises from several Trump administration officials during their confirmation hearings to not resume nuclear testing. These included National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Brandon Williams, Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Vice Admiral Scott Pappano (Ret.), and the nominee to be National Nuclear Security Administration Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Dave Beck.
Read the full transcript of Senator Rosen’s exchange below:
Senator Rosen: I want to talk a little bit about nuclear testing in Nevada. As everyone knows, the Nevada Test Site, now known as the Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS), was ground zero for the majority of the United States’ explosive nuclear testing from 1951 to 1992. During this era, which we must not return to, millions of people and acres of land were contaminated by radiation and my state of Nevada is still suffering the consequences. Since President George H.W. Bush signed the testing moratorium in 1992, the Nevada National Security Sites has safely conducted non-explosive experiments to certify the reliability, the safety, the effectiveness of our nuclear stockpile.
So let me be clear: what we are doing in Nevada is working. For decades, the directors of our national laboratories, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, including through the entire time of the first Trump Administration, and again this year, have certified the military effectiveness of our stockpile. Nonetheless, President Trump last night took the reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous step to declare that we will resume explosive nuclear testing despite no evidence, no evidence supporting the need to do so. If this resumption happens, the amount of radiation, exposure, and destruction would be felt across the country and around the world. Make no mistake: this would be devastating and catastrophic.
So I’m going to be crystal clear. I will not let this happen, not on my watch. I will do everything I can in my power as a senator, as a United States citizen to put a stop to this and protect families in my state of Nevada. So Admiral Correll, can you clarify what you told the committee earlier this morning and clearly tell us in your expert opinion, are explosive nuclear tests necessary, yes or no?
Vice Admiral Richard A. Correll: Senator, I’d be happy to schedule a follow-up briefing in a classified setting to have a discussion about testing. The STRATCOM commander’s role, and if confirmed, my role would be to provide the requirements for the accuracy –
Rosen: You do not feel confident with the tests that our national labs and what we’re doing at the Test Site, that the tests that we’ve been doing since 1992 when we stopped that above and below ground nuclear testing have not been adequate enough to ensure the integrity of our nuclear arsenal?
Correll: The adequacy and efficacy of the nuclear weapon stockpile is certified on an annual basis and it was certified satisfactorily.
Rosen: Do you trust in those experiments?
Correll: I do trust that assessment.
Rosen: And so would you counsel the president on national security implications, and let me tell you that we like to say in Nevada “what happens in Las Vegas stays in Vegas,” but if you start those explosive nuclear tests I can tell you this: every bit of air, every bit of ground water, every bit of soil across these United States will be contaminated with radiation and everyone in this country will suffer. Not just the people of Nevada. So how would you counsel the president on this issue of resuming explosive nuclear tests?
Correll: I would provide my best military advice in a private setting and classified setting.
Rosen: I know you’re not there yet, you’ve had a career working in all of this, worked very hard and have so much knowledge. I look forward to really working with you and working to move all of these issues forward. I just want to be sure that you agree with data-informed assessments and that there really isn’t a technicalor strategic justification for resuming what might be a great photo op of a mushroom cloud over the western United States.
Correll: Senator, I have always been driven by data and to the best of my ability provide forthright and candid advice and commit that that will not change going forward.
Rosen: I look forward to setting up that meeting in the SCIF to discuss this further.
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