Smarter Approaches to Nuclear Expenditures Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3472 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 MAY 18, 2023 Mr. BLUMENAUER 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 makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3472 IH (1) The United States continues to maintain an 1 excessively large and costly arsenal of nuclear deliv- 2 ery systems and warheads that are a holdover from 3 the Cold War. 4 (2) The current nuclear arsenal of the United 5 States includes approximately 3,708 total nuclear 6 warheads in its military stockpile, of which approxi- 7 mately 1,744 are deployed with five delivery compo- 8 nents: land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, 9 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, long-range 10 strategic bomber aircraft armed with nuclear gravity 11 bombs, long-range strategic bomber aircraft armed 12 with nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missiles, and 13 short-range fighter aircraft that can deliver nuclear 14 gravity bombs. The strategic bomber fleet of the 15 United States comprises 87 B–52 and 20 B–2 air- 16 craft, over 66 of which contribute to the nuclear 17 mission. The United States also maintains 400 18 intercontinental ballistic missiles and 14 Ohio-class 19 submarines, up to 12 of which are deployed. Each 20 of those submarines is armed with approximately 90 21 nuclear warheads. 22 (3) Between fiscal years 2021 and 2030, the 23 United States will spend an estimated 24 $634,000,000,000 to maintain and recapitalize its 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3472 IH nuclear force, according to a January 2019 estimate 1 from the Congressional Budget Office, an increase of 2 $140,000,000,000 from the Congressional Budget 3 Office’s 2019 estimate, with 36 percent of that addi- 4 tional cost stemming ‘‘mainly from new plans for 5 modernizing [the Department of Energy’s] produc- 6 tion facilities and from [the Department of De- 7 fense’s] modernization programs moving more fully 8 into production’’. 9 (4) Adjusted for inflation, the Congressional 10 Budget Office estimates that the United States will 11 spend $634,000,000,000 between 2021 and 2030 on 12 new nuclear weapons and modernization and infra- 13 structure programs, an estimate that in total is 28 14 percent higher than the Congressional Budget Of- 15 fice’s most recent previous estimate of the 10-year 16 costs of nuclear forces. 17 (5) Inaccurate budget forecasting is likely to 18 continue to plague the Department of Defense and 19 the Department of Energy, as evidenced by the fis- 20 cal year 2023 budget request of the President for 21 the National Nuclear Security Administration 22 ‘‘Weapon Activities’’ account, which far exceeded 23 what the National Nuclear Security Administration 24 had projected in previous years. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3472 IH (6) The projected growth in nuclear weapons 1 spending is coming due as the Department of De- 2 fense is seeking to replace large portions of its con- 3 ventional forces to better compete with the Russian 4 Federation and the People’s Republic of China and 5 as internal and external fiscal pressures are likely to 6 limit the growth of, and perhaps reduce, military 7 spending. As then-Air Force Chief of Staff General 8 Dave Goldfein said in 2020, ‘‘I think a debate is 9 that this will be the first time that the nation has 10 tried to simultaneously modernize the nuclear enter- 11 prise while it’s trying to modernize an aging conven- 12 tional enterprise. The current budget does not allow 13 you to do both.’’. 14 (7) In 2023, the Government Accountability Of- 15 fice released a report entitled ‘‘Nuclear Weapons: 16 NNSA Does Not Have a Comprehensive Schedule or 17 Cost Estimate for Pit Production Capability’’, stat- 18 ing the National Nuclear Security Administration 19 ‘‘had limited assurance that it would be able to 20 produce sufficient numbers of pits in time’’ to meet 21 the requirement under section 4219 of the Atomic 22 Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2538a) that the Na- 23 tional Nuclear Security Administration produce 80 24 plutonium pits by 2030. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3472 IH (8) According to the Government Accountability 1 Office, the National Nuclear Security Administration 2 has still not factored affordability concerns into its 3 planning as was recommended by the Government 4 Accountability Office in 2017, with the warning that 5 ‘‘it is essential for NNSA to present information to 6 Congress and other key decision makers indicating 7 whether the agency has prioritized certain mod- 8 ernization programs or considered trade-offs (such 9 as deferring or cancelling specific modernization pro- 10 grams)’’. Instead, the budget estimate of the De- 11 partment of Energy for nuclear modernization ac- 12 tivities during the period of fiscal years 2021 13 through 2025 was $81,000,000,000— 14 $15,000,000,000 more than the 2020 budget esti- 15 mate of the Department for the same period. 16 (9) A December 2020 Congressional Budget 17 Office analysis showed that the projected costs of 18 nuclear forces over the next decade can be reduced 19 by $12,400,000,000 to $13,600,000,000 by trim- 20 ming back current plans, while still maintaining a 21 triad of delivery systems. Even larger savings would 22 accrue over the subsequent decade. 23 (10) The Department of Defense’s June 2013 24 nuclear policy guidance entitled ‘‘Report on Nuclear 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3472 IH Employment Strategy of the United States’’ found 1 that force levels under the April 2010 Treaty on 2 Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation 3 of Strategic Offensive Arms between the United 4 States and the Russian Federation (commonly 5 known as the ‘‘New START Treaty’’) ‘‘are more 6 than adequate for what the United States needs to 7 fulfill its national security objectives’’ and can be re- 8 duced by up to 1⁄3 below levels under the New 9 START Treaty to 1,000 to 1,100 warheads. 10 (11) Former President Trump expanded the 11 role of, and spending on, nuclear weapons in United 12 States policy at the same time that he withdrew 13 from, unsigned, or otherwise terminated a series of 14 important arms control and nonproliferation agree- 15 ments. 16 SEC. 3. REDUCTIONS IN NUCLEAR FORCES. 17 (a) REDUCTION OF NUCLEAR-ARMED SUB- 18 MARINES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 19 none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or other- 20 wise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year 21 thereafter for the Department of Defense may be obli- 22 gated or expended for purchasing more than eight Colum- 23 bia-class submarines. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3472 IH (b) REDUCTION OF GROUND-BASED MISSILES.— 1 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning in 2 fiscal year 2024, the forces of the Air Force shall include 3 not more than 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles. 4 (c) REDUCTION OF DEPLOYED STRATEGIC WAR- 5 HEADS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, be- 6 ginning in fiscal year 2024, the forces of the United States 7 Military shall include not more than 1,000 deployed stra- 8 tegic warheads, as that term is defined in the New START 9 Treaty. 10 (d) LIMITATION ON NEW LONG-RANGE PENE- 11 TRATING BOMBER AIRCRAFT.—Notwithstanding any 12 other provision of law, none of the funds authorized to 13 be appropriated or otherwise made available for any of fis- 14 cal years 2024 through 2028 for the Department of De- 15 fense may be obligated or expended for purchasing more 16 than 80 B–21 long-range penetrating bomber aircraft. 17 (e) PROHIBITION ON F–35 NUCLEAR MISSION.— 18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 19 funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 20 available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter 21 for the Department of Defense or the Department of En- 22 ergy may be used to make the F–35 Joint Strike Fighter 23 aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3472 IH (f) PROHIBITION ON NEW AIR-LAUNCHED CRUISE 1 MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 2 none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or other- 3 wise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year 4 thereafter for the Department of Defense or the Depart- 5 ment of Energy may be obligated or expended for the re- 6 search, development, test, and evaluation or procurement 7 of the long-range stand-off weapon or any other new air- 8 launched cruise missile or for the W80 warhead life exten- 9 sion program. 10 (g) PROHIBITION ON NEW INTERCONTINENTAL BAL- 11 LISTIC MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 12 law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or 13 otherwise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal 14 year thereafter for the Department of Defense may be ob- 15 ligated or expended for the research, development, test, 16 and evaluation or procurement of the LGM–35 Sentinel, 17 previously known as the ground-based strategic deterrent, 18 or any new intercontinental ballistic missile. 19 (h) TERMINATION OF URANIUM PROCESSING FACIL- 20 ITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none 21 of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise 22 made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year 23 thereafter for the Department of Defense or the Depart- 24 ment of Energy may be obligated or expended for the Ura- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3472 IH nium Processing Facility located at the Y–12 National Se- 1 curity Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 2 (i) PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT AND DEPLOY- 3 MENT OF NEW LOW-YIELD WARHEAD.—Notwithstanding 4 any other provision of law, none of the funds authorized 5 to be appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal 6 year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter for the Department 7 of Defense or the Department of Energy may be obligated 8 or expended to deploy the W76–2 low-yield nuclear war- 9 head or any other low-yield or nonstrategic nuclear war- 10 head. 11 (j) PROHIBITION ON NEW SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED 12 CRUISE MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision 13 of law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated 14 or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any 15 fiscal year thereafter for the Department of Defense or 16 the Department of Energy may be obligated or expended 17 for the research, development, test, and evaluation or pro- 18 curement of a new submarine-launched cruise missile ca- 19 pable of carrying a low-yield or nonstrategic nuclear war- 20 head, as the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review found this sys- 21 tem ‘‘no longer necessary’’. 22 (k) LIMITATION ON PLUTONIUM PIT PRODUCTION.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 24 provision of law, none of the funds authorized to be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3472 IH appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal 1 year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter for the De- 2 partment of Defense or the Department of Energy 3 may be obligated or expended for expanding produc- 4 tion of plutonium pits at the Los Alamos National 5 Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, or the Savan- 6 nah River Site, South Carolina, until the Adminis- 7 trator for Nuclear Security submits to the appro- 8 priate committees of Congress an integrated master 9 schedule and total estimated cost for the National 10 Nuclear Security Administration’s overall plutonium 11 pit production effort during the period of 2025 12 through 2035. 13 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHEDULE.—The 14 schedule required to be submitted under paragraph 15 (1) shall— 16 (A) include timelines, resources, and budg- 17 ets for planned work; and 18 (B) be consistent with modern manage- 19 ment standards and best practices as described 20 in guidelines of the Government Accountability 21 Office. 22 (l) PROHIBITION ON SUSTAINMENT OF B83–1 23 BOMB.—Notwithstanding other provision of law, none of 24 the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3472 IH available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter 1 for the Department of Defense or the Department of En- 2 ergy may be obligated or expended for the sustainment 3 of the B83–1 bomb, as the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review 4 declared the B83–1 ‘‘will be retired’’. 5 (m) PROHIBITION ON SPACE-BASED MISSILE DE- 6 FENSE.—Notwithstanding other provision of law, none of 7 the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 8 available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter 9 for the Department of Defense or the Department of En- 10 ergy may be obligated or expended for the research, devel- 11 opment, test, and evaluation or procurement of a space- 12 based missile defense system. 13 (n) PROHIBITION ON THE W–93 WARHEAD.—Not- 14 withstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds 15 authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available 16 for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter for the 17 Department of Defense [Text truncated for display. 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