Ahead of the House’s scheduled debate of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, the White House said it still does not want to build the sea-launched, nuclear-tipped cruise missile the bill would authorize.
“The Administration strongly opposes continued funding for the nuclear sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) and its associated warhead,” the White House wrote in a statement of administration policy posted online Tuesday. “The President’s Nuclear Posture Review concluded that SLCM-N, which would not be delivered before the 2030s, is unnecessary and potentially detrimental to other priorities.”
In the same statement, the administration also told Congress it should abandon a proposed overhaul to the Nuclear Weapons Council, the joint Pentagon-Department of Energy body that coordinates nuclear weapons procurement. If enacted, the House-authored proposal would require the council to inform Congress if ongoing refurbishments and replacements of U.S. nuclear weapons, delivery platforms and carrier vehicles create any “significant risks to cost, schedules, or other matters” at DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
No lawmaker has specifically proposed amending the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to drop the sea-launched cruise missile, or the modified W80-4 warhead it would use, though a Democratic amendment from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) would effectively accomplish that by removing roughly $37 billion in extra defense spending the House Armed Services Committee voted in June to provide in the bill.
Lee’s proposal was among the first scheduled for debate on Wednesday, after the House floor opens for legislative business at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time.
Also in that debate, lawmakers will get a chance to vote on more than 10 amendments dealing with nuclear weapons and the NNSA, the semi autonomous agency within DOE that maintains and modernizes those weapons and the production complex required for their upkeep.
The summaries of those amendments, in the words of the lawmakers who have proposed them, follow:
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) “Prevents testing and development of the new, unnecessary Sentinel (GBSD) nuclear missile and instead simply extends the existing Minuteman III ICBM through at least 2040.”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) “Lists an unclassified Nuclear Posture Review and unclassified summary of the Analysis of Alternatives for the SLCM-N as additional required submission in Section 1634.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) “Strikes the prohibition on the reduction of the total number of nuclear armed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) deployed in the United States.”
Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) “Increases amount authorized to be appropriated in section 3101 for the National Nuclear Security Administration, as specified in the corresponding funding table in section 4701, for Stockpile Major Modernization, W80-4 Life Extension Program by $5,000,000.”
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) “Requires National Nuclear Security Administration report options for partnering with private industry to mitigate supply chain risks related to the production and integration of pit plutonium production glove boxes.”
Rep. Rony Jackson (R-Texas) “Modifies the requirements for NNSA to no longer require a line item authorization from Congress prior to conducting Phase 1.”
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) “Provides $20,000,000 in funding for the continued research and development of advanced naval nuclear fuel systems based on low-enriched uranium.”
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) “Extends the deadline for the Secretary of Energy to clean up and convey certain parcels of land previously identified for transfer around Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.”
Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.) “Codifies NNSA as the interagency lead on nuclear forensics, making NNSA responsible for integrating the National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) activities in a consistent, unified strategic direction.”
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) “Expresses a sense of Congress reiterating Congress’s commitment to ensuring Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon and condemning Iran for its lack of cooperation with the IAEA on the unresolved matter of uranium particles discovered at undeclared sites in Iran.”
Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) “Directs the Defense Department to provide a report on a risk assessment regarding likelihood of use of a nuclear weapon as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and whether such risk increases as the war continues.”
Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) “Repeals the restriction on funding for the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.”
