CONGRESS FOR VOTERS

DemocratAmendment · S.Amdt. 3803· Senate(119-SAMDT-3803)

S.Amdt. 3803

Rep. Markey
Age: 80 years
Massachusetts
Introduced
9/8/2025
Sponsored by
Edward Markey
Cosponsors
None
Changes bill
119-S-2296 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
  1. Introduced
  2. Pending Consideration

What this amendment would do

SA 3803, submitted by Mr. Markey, aims to add a new section to bill S. 2296 titled "Restriction on First-Use Nuclear Strikes."

The purpose of this amendment is to establish that no first-use nuclear strike should be conducted without a declaration of war by Congress. It seeks to provide checks and balances to the President's sole authority to authorize nuclear weapons, based on the finding that Congress has the sole power to declare war.

To achieve this, the amendment adds the following:

  • Policy Declaration: It states the U.S. policy is that no first-use nuclear strike should occur without a congressional declaration of war.

  • Funding Prohibition: It prohibits the use of Federal funds to conduct a first-use nuclear strike unless it is done under a war declared by Congress that expressly authorizes the strike.

  • Definition: It defines a "first-use nuclear strike" as an attack using nuclear weapons against an enemy without the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff first confirming to the President that a nuclear strike occurred against the U.S., its territories, or its allies.