Introduction

On March 10, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-242 (NNPA). It was a major piece of legislation in a continuing series of legislative acts to limit the further spread, or proliferation, of nuclear weapons and the materials and facilities needed to make them. In remarks at the bill signing ceremony, President Carter said that the legislation "would be a much more predictable factor in the decisions made by foreign nations." He added that "some of our friends abroad will have to readjust their policy." ¹ In additional remarks, Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.), one of the chief sponsors of the legislation, said that "this day marks the moment when the nuclear nonproliferators take over against the nuclear salesmen. . . . [W]e insist upon safety of humanity taking first precedence, I think, over the sale of nuclear materials." ²