II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 574 

To restrict the use of funds for the long-range standoff weapon until the 

Secretary of Defense completes a Nuclear Posture Review that includes 

an assessment of the capabilities and effects of the use of the longrange standoff weapon, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 8, 2017 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

LEAHY, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. 

BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To restrict the use of funds for the long-range standoff 

weapon until the Secretary of Defense completes a Nuclear Posture Review that includes an assessment of 

the capabilities and effects of the use of the long-range 

standoff weapon, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Cruise Missile 

5 Reconsideration Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The United States is currently developing a 

4 new nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile, the 

5 long-range standoff weapon. 

6 (2) When asked by the Committee on Armed 

7 Services of the Senate before his confirmation hear8 ing about his support for the long-range standoff 

9 weapon, Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis stat10 ed, ‘‘I will carefully examine the utility and advis11 ability of this program within existing nuclear doc12 trine.’’. 

13 (3) When asked during his confirmation hear14 ing whether he would commit to support continued 

15 development of the long-range standoff weapon, Sec16 retary Mattis emphasized the need to examine its 

17 ‘‘deterrent capability’’. 

18 (4) The United States already plans to con19 struct a new fleet of nuclear-capable penetrating 

20 long-range strike bombers, known as the B–21, that 

21 will carry the refurbished B61 nuclear gravity bomb. 

22 (5) The range and lethality of existing United 

23 States strategic bombers is being improved by the 

24 addition of the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Mis25 sile, a long-range conventionally armed air-launched 


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1 cruise missile. The B–21 bomber will also be armed 

2 with this missile. 

3 (6) According to public reports, the long-range 

4 standoff weapon will be a far more precise version 

5 of its predecessor. 

6 (7) General James E. Cartwright, former head 

7 of United States Strategic Command, warned in 

8 2016 that ‘‘bring[ing] real precision to [nuclear] 

9 weapons’’ could ‘‘make them more usable’’. 

10 (8) In a 2014 letter to the Committee on Ap11 propriations of the Senate, Under Secretary of De12 fense Frank Kendall explained that the long-range 

13 standoff weapon could have utility ‘‘[b]eyond deter14 rence’’. 

15 (9) In a 2016 statement before the Sub16 committee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on 

17 Armed Services of the House of Representatives, As18 sistant Secretary of Defense Robert Scher asserted 

19 that the long-range standoff weapon would provide 

20 the United States with the ability ‘‘to respond pro21 portionately to a limited nuclear attack’’. 

22 (10) In a 2013 article in the Telegraph, Philip 

23 Hammond, then-Defense Secretary of the United 

24 Kingdom explained, ‘‘A cruise-based deterrent would 


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1 carry significant risk of miscalculation and unin2 tended escalation.’’. 

3 (11) In a 2015 article in the Washington Post, 

4 former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and 

5 former Assistant Secretary of Defense Andrew 

6 Weber wrote, ‘‘Because they can be launched with7 out warning and come in both nuclear and conven8 tional variants, cruise missiles are a uniquely desta9 bilizing type of weapon.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR LONG-RANGE 

11 STANDOFF WEAPON. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi13 sion of law, in any fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense 

14 may not obligate or expend more than $95,600,000 on de15 velopment of the long-range standoff weapon or any other 

16 nuclear-capable air-launched cruise missile, and the Sec17 retary of Energy may not obligate or expend more than 

18 $220,253,000 on the life extension program for the W80– 

19 4 warhead, until the Secretary of Defense, in consultation 

20 with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, submits 

21 to the appropriate congressional committees a Nuclear 

22 Posture Review that includes a detailed and specific as23 sessment of the following: 

24 (1) The anticipated capabilities of the long25 range standoff weapon to hold targets at risk beyond 


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1 other already existing and planned nuclear-capable 

2 delivery systems. 

3 (2) The anticipated ability of the long-range 

4 standoff weapon to elude adversary integrated air 

5 and missile defenses compared to the B–21 bomber. 

6 (3) The anticipated effect of the long-range 

7 standoff weapon on strategic stability relative to 

8 other nuclear-armed countries. 

9 (4) The anticipated effect of the long-range 

10 standoff weapon on the offensive nuclear weapons 

11 capabilities and programs of other nuclear-armed 

12 countries. 

13 (5) The anticipated effect of the long-range 

14 standoff weapon on the response of other nuclear15 armed countries to proposals to decrease or halt the 

16 growth of their nuclear stockpiles. 

17 (6) The anticipated effect of the long-range 

18 standoff weapon on the threshold for the use of nu19 clear weapons. 

20 (b) FORM.—The Nuclear Posture Review required by 

21 subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 

22 may include a classified annex. 

23 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE24 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres25 sional committees’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

2 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 

3 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

4 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep5 resentatives. 

Æ 


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