POSITIVE War & Foreign Policy 119th Congress

H.R.669 Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2025

Prohibits first-use nuclear strikes unless Congress expressly authorizes them through a declaration of war (119th Congress)

View on Congress.gov

Legal & Constitutional Grounding

Nuclear first-strike authority bypasses Congress's constitutional war-declaration power; Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds.

U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 11 — Congress's exclusive power to declare war; nuclear first strike is an act of war requiring congressional authorization

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952) — limits on executive power absent congressional authorization
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists — Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight (Jan 2026), closest in 79-year history

Who Lobbied on This Bill

$3M combined quarterly activity

1 lobbying firm

1 client represented

2025-third_quarter–2026-first_quarter filing period

Policy Areas Covered

Defense

Government Entities Lobbied

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SENATE

Who Hired the Lobbyists

FRIENDS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL LEGISLATION

Source: Senate LDA filings · Dollar figures are combined quarterly totals for all lobbying by each firm, not bill-specific spend.

Restricts first-use nuclear authority to require congressional declaration of war. The Constitution vests war-declaration power in Congress (Article I, Section 8), and unilateral nuclear first-strike authority bypasses this requirement.