; Statement of Policy (a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The INF Treaty, which entered into force on June 1, 1988, banned the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from possessing ground-launched nuclear and conventional missiles and launchers retaining ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (km). (2) Implementation of the INF Treaty led to the dismantlement of 2,692 short-, medium-, and intermediate-range missiles between the United States and the USSR, representing a major reduction in both nuclear arsenals and evidencing key efforts to safeguard the United States and its allies from nuclear weapons. (3) Since concerns regarding a noncompliant ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) were first raised in 2008, the Russian Federation has developed and tested a GLCM (currently designated SSC–8 ) that has a range violating the fundamental stipulations of the INF Treaty. (4) In 2014, the United States labeled the Russian Federation to be in violation of the INF Treaty in the Department of State Report entitled, Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments , and has maintained Russia’s noncompliant status in each subsequent report due to the development and testing of the SSC–8. (5) During a March 2017 hearing at the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Paul Selva, asserted that we believe that the Russians have deployed a land-based cruise missile that violates the spirit and intent of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty and that such a system poses a threat to NATO and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility. (6) When examining the response options at the United States disposal, the Department of Defense stated in its 2016 Plan for Military Response Options to Russian Federation Violations of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that Russia’s return to compliance with its obligations under the INF Treaty remains the