Smarter Approaches to Nuclear Expenditures Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4904 To reduce spending on nuclear weapons and related defense spending and to prohibit the procurement and deployment of low-yield nuclear war- heads, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 29, 2019 Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To reduce spending on nuclear weapons and related defense spending and to prohibit the procurement and deploy- ment of low-yield nuclear warheads, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smarter Approaches 4 to Nuclear Expenditures Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4904 IH (1) The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the Soviet 1 Union no longer exists, and the Cold War is over. 2 The nature of threats to the national security and 3 military interests of the United States has changed. 4 However, the United States continues to maintain 5 an excessively large and costly arsenal of nuclear de- 6 livery systems and warheads that are a holdover 7 from the Cold War. 8 (2) The current nuclear arsenal of the United 9 States includes approximately 3,800 total nuclear 10 warheads in its military stockpile, of which approxi- 11 mately 1,750 are deployed with five delivery compo- 12 nents: land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, 13 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, long-range 14 strategic bomber aircraft armed with nuclear gravity 15 bombs, long-range strategic bomber aircraft armed 16 with nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missiles, and 17 short-range fighter aircraft that can deliver nuclear 18 gravity bombs. The strategic bomber fleet of the 19 United States comprises 87 B–52 and 20 B–2 air- 20 craft, over 60 of which contribute to the nuclear 21 mission. The United States also maintains 400 22 intercontinental ballistic missiles and 14 Ohio-class 23 submarines, up to 12 of which are deployed. Each 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4904 IH of those submarines is armed with approximately 90 1 nuclear warheads. 2 (3) The maintenance of this force comes at sig- 3 nificant cost. Between fiscal years 2019 and 2028, 4 the United States will spend $494,000,000,000 to 5 maintain and recapitalize its nuclear force, according 6 to a January 2019 estimate from the Congressional 7 Budget Office. This is $94,000,000,000 higher than 8 the Congressional Budget Office’s 2017 estimate, 9 with additional cost driven in part by the new nu- 10 clear weapons called for in the 2018 Nuclear Pos- 11 ture Review. Over the next 30 years, the price tag 12 is likely to exceed $1,500,000,000,000 and could 13 even approach $2,000,000,000,000. 14 (4) Numerous United States Government offi- 15 cials have warned of the affordability problem posed 16 by the current nuclear weapons sustainment plans, 17 cautioning that these plans cannot be executed in 18 the absence of significant long-term increases to de- 19 fense spending or cuts to other military priorities. 20 For example, Brian McKeon, former Principal Dep- 21 uty Under Secretary of Defense stated in October 22 2015 that: ‘‘We’re looking at that big bow wave [in 23 nuclear weapons spending] and wondering how the 24 heck we’re going to pay for it, and probably thank- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4904 IH ing our lucky stars we won’t be here to answer the 1 question.’’ Projected spending on the nuclear weap- 2 ons budget has grown even larger since 2015. 3 (5) The projected growth in nuclear weapons 4 spending is coming due as the Department of De- 5 fense is seeking to replace large portions of its con- 6 ventional forces to better compete with the Russian 7 Federation and the People’s Republic of China and 8 as internal and external fiscal pressures are likely to 9 limit the growth of, and perhaps reduce, military 10 spending. ‘‘We’re going to have enormous pressure 11 on reducing the debt which means that defense 12 spending—I’d like to tell you it’s going to keep 13 going up—[but] I’m not terribly optimistic.’’, Alan 14 Shaffer, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Ac- 15 quisition and Sustainment, said in February 2019. 16 (6) A substantial decrease in spending on the 17 nuclear arsenal of the United States is prudent for 18 both the budget and for national security. The De- 19 partment of Defense’s June 2013 nuclear policy 20 guidance entitled ‘‘Report on Nuclear Employment 21 Strategy of the United States’’ found that force lev- 22 els under the April 2010 Treaty on Measures for the 23 Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Of- 24 fensive Arms between the United States and the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4904 IH Russian Federation (commonly known as the ‘‘New 1 START Treaty’’) ‘‘are more than adequate for what 2 the United States needs to fulfill its national secu- 3 rity objectives’’ and can be reduced by up to 1⁄3 4 below levels under the New START Treaty to 1,000 5 to 1,100 warheads. 6 (7) A December 2018 Congressional Budget 7 Office analysis showed that the projected costs of 8 nuclear forces over the next decade can be reduced 9 by $8,000,000,000 to $9,000,000,000 by trimming 10 back current plans, while still maintaining a triad of 11 delivery systems. Even larger savings would accrue 12 over the subsequent decade. 13 (8) Even without additional reductions below 14 the New START Treaty limit of 1,550 deployed 15 strategic warheads, the United States can save tens 16 of billions of dollars by deploying those warheads 17 more efficiently on delivery systems and by deferring 18 production of new delivery systems until they are 19 needed. 20 (9) President Donald Trump is proposing to ex- 21 pand the role of, and spending on, nuclear weapons 22 in United States policy at the same time that it has 23 undermined critical arms control and nonprolifera- 24 tion agreements. The President has provided no 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4904 IH clear indication that the President intends to extend 1 the New START Treaty. The potential expiration of 2 that treaty will remove all limits on the size of the 3 United States and Russian nuclear arsenals, height- 4 ening further the risk of unconstrained nuclear 5 weapons competition and even greater spending on 6 nuclear weapons. 7 SEC. 3. REDUCTIONS IN NUCLEAR FORCES. 8 (a) REDUCTION OF NUCLEAR-ARMED SUB- 9 MARINES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 10 none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or other- 11 wise made available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal year 12 thereafter for the Department of Defense may be obli- 13 gated or expended for purchasing more than eight Colum- 14 bia-class submarines. 15 (b) REDUCTION OF GROUND-BASED MISSILES.— 16 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning in 17 fiscal year 2020, the forces of the Air Force shall include 18 not more than 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles. 19 (c) REDUCTION OF DEPLOYED STRATEGIC WAR- 20 HEADS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, be- 21 ginning in fiscal year 2020, the forces of the United States 22 Military shall include not more than 1,000 deployed stra- 23 tegic warheads, as that term is defined in the New START 24 Treaty. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4904 IH (d) LIMITATION ON NEW LONG-RANGE PENE- 1 TRATING BOMBER AIRCRAFT.—Notwithstanding any 2 other provision of law, none of the funds authorized to 3 be appropriated or otherwise made available for any of fis- 4 cal years 2020 through 2028 for the Department of De- 5 fense may be obligated or expended for purchasing more 6 than 80 B–21 long-range penetrating bomber aircraft. 7 (e) PROHIBITION ON F–35 NUCLEAR MISSION.— 8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 9 funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 10 available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal year thereafter 11 for the Department of Defense or the Department of En- 12 ergy may be used to make the F–35 Joint Strike Fighter 13 aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons. 14 (f) PROHIBITION ON NEW AIR-LAUNCHED CRUISE 15 MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 16 none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or other- 17 wise made available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal year 18 thereafter for the Department of Defense or the Depart- 19 ment of Energy may be obligated or expended for the re- 20 search, development, test, and evaluation or procurement 21 of the long-range stand-off weapon or any other new air- 22 launched cruise missile or for the W80 warhead life exten- 23 sion program. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4904 IH (g) PROHIBITION ON NEW INTERCONTINENTAL BAL- 1 LISTIC MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 2 law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or 3 otherwise made available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal 4 year thereafter for the Department of Defense may be ob- 5 ligated or expended for the research, development, test, 6 and evaluation or procurement of the ground-based stra- 7 tegic deterrent or any new intercontinental ballistic mis- 8 sile. 9 (h) TERMINATION OF URANIUM PROCESSING FACIL- 10 ITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none 11 of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise 12 made available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal year 13 thereafter for the Department of Defense or the Depart- 14 ment of Energy may be obligated or expended for the Ura- 15 nium Processing Facility located at the Y–12 National Se- 16 curity Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 17 (i) PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT AND DEPLOY- 18 MENT OF NEW LOW-YIELD WARHEAD.—Notwithstanding 19 any other provision of law, none of the funds authorized 20 to be appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal 21 year 2020 or any fiscal year thereafter for the Department 22 of Defense or the Department of Energy may be obligated 23 or expended to procure or deploy the W76–2 low-yield nu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4904 IH clear warhead or any other low-yield or nonstrategic nu- 1 clear warhead. 2 (j) PROHIBITION ON NEW SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED 3 CRUISE MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision 4 of law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated 5 or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2020 or any 6 fiscal year thereafter for the Department of Defense or 7 the Department of Energy may be obligated or expended 8 for the research, development, test, and evaluation or pro- 9 curement of a new submarine-launched cruise missile ca- 10 pable of carrying a low-yield or nonstrategic nuclear war- 11 head. 12 (k) LIMITATION ON PLUTONIUM PIT PRODUCTION.— 13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 14 funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 15 available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal year thereafter 16 for the Department of Defense or the Department of En- 17 ergy may be obligated or expended for achieving produc- 18 tion of more than 30 plutonium pits per year at Los Ala- 19 mos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. 20 (l) LIMITATION ON W87–1 WARHEAD PROCURE- 21 MENT AND DEPLOYMENT.—Notwithstanding any other 22 provision of law, none of the funds authorized to be appro- 23 priated or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2020 24 or any fiscal year thereafter for the Department of De- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4904 IH fense or the Department of Energy may be obligated or 1 expended for the procurement or deployment of the W87– 2 1 warhead for use on any missile that can feasibly employ 3 a W87 warhead. 4 (m) LIMITATION ON SUSTAINMENT OF B83–1 5 BOMB.—Notwithstanding other provision of law, none of 6 the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 7 available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal year thereafter 8 for the Department of Defense or the Department of En- 9 ergy may be obligated or expended for the sustainment 10 of the B83–1 bomb beyond the time at which confidence 11 in the B61–12 stockpile is gained. 12 (n) PROHIBITION ON SPACE-BASED MISSILE DE- 13 FENSE.—Notwithstanding other provision of law, none of 14 the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 15 available for fiscal year 2020 or any fiscal year thereafter 16 for the Department of Defense or the Department of En- 17 ergy may be obligated or expended for the research, devel- 18 opment, test, and evaluation or procurement of a space- 19 based missile defense system. 20 SEC. 4. REPORTS REQUIRED. 21 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 23 Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly submit 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4904.IH H4904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4904 IH to the appropriate committees of Congress a report out- 1 lining the plan of each Secretary to carry out section 3. 2 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 1, 3 2021, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense 4 and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly submit to the 5 appropriate committees of Congress a report outlining the 6 plan of each Secretary to carry out section 3, including 7 any updates to previously submitted reports. 8 (c) ANNUAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS ACCOUNTING.— 9 Not later than September 30, 2020, and annually there- 10 after, the President shall transmit to the appropriate com- 11 mittees of Congress a report containing a comprehensive 12 accoun [Text truncated for display. 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