To provide for the approval of the Amendment to the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for Cooperation on the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defense Purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5681) to provide for the approval of the Amendment to the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for Cooperation on the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defense Purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I will share with the Members here that I rise in strong support of this legislation to extend for another 10 years the United States- United Kingdom Mutual Defense Agreement. This agreement has governed our nuclear cooperation with the United Kingdom for 50 years.

As always, I appreciate the cooperation of our ranking member, Mr. Engel of New York, for bringing this legislation to the floor. By acting today, we will ensure that this vital cooperation with Great Britain continues uninterrupted.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has no closer ally than the United Kingdom. We all know that. Our societies are founded on a shared belief in freedom and universal human rights. As a result, our close consultation on major foreign policy issues has long been routine; and coordinated action, frankly, is the norm between us and the U.K. We share an unprecedented defense relationship. The advantage of that is it has helped us secure our shared interests and values since the World Wars of the last century. We have fought side by side in conflicts from World War I to Afghanistan. Today, we have joined forces, along with other partners, to battle ISIL. Our intelligence cooperation is unique.

We are both founding members of NATO. We have shouldered a disproportionate share of the burden in NATO. We do that because we understand that the world remains a very dangerous place, but also because we know if we do not do so and we do not lead, no one else will.

Our cooperation on defense includes a unique partnership on nuclear security. This Mutual Defense Agreement is the framework through which this partnership takes place. It enables the exchange of nuclear materials, technology, and information that has been renewed many times. Actually, this goes back to 1958. The bill that we will renew here will take it for another decade to ensure that our full cooperation on defense can continue uninterrupted.

So I urge my colleagues to support the bill to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the United Kingdom: a friend, a partner and enduring ally.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Engel.

I think, by moving quickly here, we can send this bill to the President's desk.

I am proud to note, I will add, that we recognize this special relationship in the House with the British American Parliamentary Group, which was formed shortly after World War II, and each year Members of Congress and Members of Parliament convene to discuss our partnership.

Last year, Congress dedicated a bust of Winston Churchill that is prominently displayed in this Capitol. We just had an unveiling today of the bust for Vaclav Havel, and it will stand next to that of Winston Churchill.

Mr. Speaker, the United Kingdom remains our closest ally and most important security partner, and the Mutual Defense Agreement is a key element of our unmatched special relationship, as Churchill used to call it.

By renewing this agreement, Congress will ensure the uninterrupted continuation of our close nuclear cooperation with the U.K. and reinforce our joint ability to provide strategic security. So I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5681. This legislation approves an amendment, as the chairman said, to the United States-United Kingdom Mutual Defense Agreement.

I want to begin by thanking Chairman Ed Royce for his bipartisan leadership on this legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor.

Since 1958, the U.S.-U.K. Mutual Defense Agreement has underpinned cooperation between our two countries on defense-related nuclear technology. The U.K. is the only country with which we share this sensitive nuclear technology. It reflects the special relationship that binds our countries together.

Every 10 years, this agreement has been extended to stay up to date with new technologies and build new areas of cooperation. Now, normally, these extensions go into effect automatically 60 legislative days after the updated agreement is submitted to Congress. However, this agreement will lapse on December 31, before we reach that 60-day mark. If that were to happen, the revised agreement would have to be resubmitted in the next Congress, the 60-day clock would reset, and, most importantly, there would be no legal authority to continue defense-related nuclear work with the U.K. for some period of time.

What would that mean?

First, the regular scheduled transfer of nuclear material between the U.S. and the U.K. would grind to a halt.

Secondly, ongoing work on submarine propulsion would be interrupted, which would affect the deployment of our ally's nuclear deterrent.

Thirdly, exchange of sensitive information that benefits both of our nations would be delayed, including information related to threats from other countries.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow this agreement to lapse. Passing this bill will protect these critically important defense programs with one of our closest allies.

I urge my colleagues to support this important bill. I just want to reiterate the importance of passing this bipartisan, noncontroversial legislation to ensure that there is no lapse in the U.S.-U.K. Mutual Defense Agreement.

I thank the chairman, as always, for his cooperation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the United States and Great Britain have come a long way since we overthrew the tyranny of King George and claimed independence, liberty and freedom. Today, both of our nations stand for those three words.

From the Nazis to the Soviets, throughout the 20th century our two countries have fought those who wanted to take away freedom from others.

That fight continues today. Our troops spilled blood together fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. We oppose the mullahs in Iran that want to build a nuclear weapon and use terrorism to kill Americans and Britons in Iraq. We decry the anti-semitism at the UN. We beat back the aggression of the Russian bear. We fight for the freedom of the Internet. Pick almost any conflict around the world and Great Britain has our back.

We have nuclear agreements with lots of countries, but our agreement with the UK is the most comprehensive. That is fitting. It shows how deep our relationship runs.

H.R. 5681 would extend the U.S.-UK nuclear agreement, which has to be renewed every 10 years.

I am an original cosponsor of this bill because the UK is a strong ally of the United States. It is in the interest of the American people that the U.S. and UK continue to strengthen one another.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5681, which is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.