This document is a transcript of testimony given by Jerry Paul, the Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to the House Committee on Homeland Security. He described the progress of nuclear security with Russia in cooperation under an agreement reached between President Bush and Putin in 2005 in Bratislava.

The objectives of the agreement were to account for and secure nuclear material in Russia, to implement a nuclear material traffic monitoring stations across the globe, stop the manufacture of new fissile material, shutdown nuclear reactors producing weapons grade plutonium, eliminate weapons grade material and downgrade it to be used in nuclear plants, and eliminate or consolidate other nuclear materials from around the world.

Another aspect of non-proliferation was to secure the expertise of nuclear weapons technology by finding employment for personnel so they do not contribute to proliferation.

He also mentioned that in the agreement in Bratislava, George Bush considered the gravest threat to be a terrorist organization acquiring a nuclear weapon. Efforts were to be made to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. Other improvements were to expand emergency response to a disaster of this magnitude.

The cooperation between the US and Russia has created a new “security culture” in which both parties benefit. This would be a joint venture to continue the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM).

[edit on 12/7/2007 by Hal9000]