Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 2002

The Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 2002 (H.R. 4624) was designed to enhance national security by strengthening cooperation between the United States and the Russian Federation to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The bill proposed streamlining the delivery of aid to former Soviet states, establishing shared inventories of nuclear materials, and setting a goal to reduce the number of active U.S. nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by the year 2012. For the average citizen, this legislation aimed to lower the global risk of nuclear accidents or terrorism by securing dangerous materials and maintaining a moratorium on underground nuclear testing.