Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act

NUCLEAR FORENSICS AND ATTRIBUTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - June 18, 2008)

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Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I'm proud today to cosponsor and to support this bill and extend my gratitude for the bipartisan cooperation that went into drafting this important legislation--Congressman Schiff, Chairman Thompson, Chairman Langevin.

The detonation of a nuclear device in an urban area of this country would be catastrophic to say the least. And with nuclear proliferation worldwide with such apparatuses as the A.Q. Kahn network reaching the Islamic jihad world, countries like Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, the threat of a nuclear explosion and the threat of nuclear devices coming into this country is very real. This bill will help prevent that.

Reducing the risk of nuclear or radiological terrorism requires a layered system of defenses that involves deterring, detecting, disrupting and recovering from terrorist attacks.

We've spent a great deal of time in this Congress discussing the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security's Domestic and Nuclear Detection Office, or DNDO, to deploy radiation portal monitors at our Nation's ports of entry. These monitors, staffed by Customs and Border Protection officers, are the Nation's first line of defense against illicit trafficking of nuclear and radiological material.

I'd like to take this opportunity to commend the DNDO on their achievements in this area. But even with the best possible detection systems, the possibility remains that terrorists could beat the system and sneak something past one of our detectors and through a non-official port of entry. That is why defense against terrorism, especially nuclear terrorism, requires a multi-layered approach.

This bill will improve a critical layer in our Nation's system defenses against the risk of nuclear and radiological terrorism by codifying the role of the National Technical Nuclear Forensic Center, which already exists within the DNDO. By enhancing our nuclear forensic capabilities, we will be able to more easily identify the source of nuclear materials. And while getting the whole picture also requires good intelligence and law-enforcement style investigations, a credible attribution program could even serve as a deterrent against nuclear terrorism.

A main concern I have had is the decreasing number of qualified people into the fields associated with nuclear forensics. In recent years, the number of young people entering scientific fields has declined. The nuclear fields, in particular, are suffering, especially in fields relevant to nuclear forensics, which may have no commercial counterpart. I'm pleased that this legislation includes language designed to strengthen the pipeline of talented new scientists into this important field, especially from minority-serving institutions, so as to take full advantage of all the talent present in our universities.

This bill instructs the Department to establish a National Nuclear Forensics Expertise Development Program which is devoted to developing and maintaining a vibrant and enduring pipeline of technical professionals. This program will grant scholarships and fellowships from the undergraduate through the postdoctorate level of study in nuclear and geochemical science specialties, directly relevant to technical nuclear forensic.

This legislation is the first step in the right direction of reinvigorating the work force in an area critical to continued defense against nuclear and radiological terrorism.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill and its goals to improve the state of nuclear forensics in this country.

With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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