WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08), co-chair of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group and a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration announcing a Saudi Arabia that would open the door to providing the Kingdom with the most sensitive nuclear technologies, including the enrichment of uranium, without requiring the most stringent safeguards against the development of nuclear weapons. 

“The last thing the world needs is more nuclear weapons. and yet, today’s deal takes us one step closer to creating a terrifying world of further nuclear proliferation and an arm’s race in the Middle East. 

“In November, I urged that any civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia include the “Gold Standard”—the strongest nuclear nonproliferation safeguards available, including a clear commitment to forgo uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing on Saudi soil. Those provisions help ensure that civilian nuclear programs cannot be diverted toward the development of nuclear weapons. 

“The Administration chose not to make those safeguards a requirement for a deal, leaving open the possibility that Saudi Arabia could build a nuclear weapons program. 

“This is a consequential mistake. We need less nuclear weapons, not more.” 

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