II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 401 

To prohibit the research and development, production, and deployment of 

the Trident D5 low-yield nuclear warhead, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. WARREN, 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. SANDERS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To prohibit the research and development, production, and 

deployment of the Trident D5 low-yield nuclear warhead, 

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 ‘‘Hold the Low-Yield 

5 Nuclear Explosive Act’’ or the ‘‘Hold the LYNE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States has an unparalleled nu9 clear arsenal, including 1,350 strategic nuclear warVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S401.IS S401

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1 heads deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles, 

2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic 

3 bombers. 

4 (2) A new low-yield nuclear weapon to be car5 ried on a ballistic missile submarine risks lowering 

6 the threshold for nuclear use and increasing the 

7 chance of miscalculation that could escalate into all8 out nuclear exchange. 

9 (3) When launched, such a low-yield nuclear 

10 warhead would be indistinguishable to an adversary 

11 from the high-yield W76 and W88 submarine12 launched warheads. 

13 (4) On January 25, 2018, former Secretary of 

14 State George Schultz testified before the Committee 

15 on Armed Services of the Senate that ‘‘A nuclear 

16 weapon is a nuclear weapon. You use a small one, 

17 [and] then you go to a bigger one. I think nuclear 

18 weapons are nuclear weapons and we need to draw 

19 the line there.’’. 

20 (5) Former Senator Sam Nunn and former Sec21 retary of Energy Ernest Moniz stated in an op-ed on 

22 February 1, 2018, that, ‘‘The most immediate pri23 ority should be to structure and posture U.S. and 

24 Russian nuclear forces to deter nuclear use and re25 duce the risk of an accidental, mistaken or unauVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S401.IS S401

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1 thorized launch. Against this backdrop, the current 

2 Russian concept of ‘escalate to de-escalate’—i.e., 

3 limited nuclear use designed to create a pause in the 

4 conflict and open a pathway for a negotiated settle5 ment on Moscow’s terms—and U.S. calls for more 

6 ‘usable’ nuclear weapons taken together make the 

7 world a vastly more dangerous place.’’. 

8 (6) The ballistic missile submarines of the 

9 United States have never carried low-yield nuclear 

10 warheads, and setting a historical precedent could 

11 undermine the unique and paramount role of bal12 listic-missile submarines as the assured, survivable 

13 second-strike capability of the United States to deter 

14 large-scale nuclear war. 

15 (7) The United States should reject policies 

16 that increase the likelihood of nuclear war and weak17 en national security, including investments in low18 yield nuclear weapons. 

19 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 

20 PRODUCTION, AND DEPLOYMENT OF TRI21 DENT D5 LOW-YIELD NUCLEAR WARHEAD. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, none of the funds authorized to be appro24 priated or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2019 

25 or any fiscal year thereafter for the Department of DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S401.IS S401

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1 fense or the Department of Energy may be obligated or 

2 expended for the research and development, production, 

3 or deployment of the Trident D5 low-yield nuclear war4 head. 

5 (b) CONFORMING REPEAL AND RESTORATION.—Sec6 tion 3111 of the John S. McCain National Defense Au7 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115– 

8 232; 132 Stat. 2289) is repealed, and the provisions of 

9 law amended by such section are restored as if such sec10 tion had not been enacted. 

Æ 


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