I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1086 

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

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Mr. TED LIEU of California (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. 

GARAMENDI, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

BEYER, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. OMAR, Mr. 

CISNEROS, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was 

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: 


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1 (1) The United States has an unparalleled nu2 clear arsenal, including 1,350 strategic nuclear war3 heads deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles, 

4 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic 

5 bombers. 

6 (2) A new low-yield nuclear weapon to be car7 ried on a ballistic missile submarine risks lowering 

8 the threshold for nuclear use and increasing the 

9 chance of miscalculation that could escalate into all10 out nuclear exchange. 

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

12 warhead would be indistinguishable to an adversary 

13 from the high-yield W76 and W88 submarine14 launched warheads. 

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

16 State George Schultz testified before the Committee 

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

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

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

20 weapons are nuclear weapons and we need to draw 

21 the line there.’’. 

22 (5) Former Senator Sam Nunn and former Sec23 retary of Energy Ernest Moniz stated in an op-ed on 

24 February 1, 2018, that, ‘‘The most immediate pri25 ority should be to structure and posture U.S. and 


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1 Russian nuclear forces to deter nuclear use and re2 duce the risk of an accidental, mistaken or unau3 thorized launch. Against this backdrop, the current 

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

5 limited nuclear use designed to create a pause in the 

6 conflict and open a pathway for a negotiated settle7 ment on Moscow’s terms—and U.S. calls for more 

8 ‘usable’ nuclear weapons taken together make the 

9 world a vastly more dangerous place.’’. 

10 (6) The ballistic missile submarines of the 

11 United States have never carried low-yield nuclear 

12 warheads, and setting a historical precedent could 

13 undermine the unique and paramount role of bal14 listic-missile submarines as the assured, survivable 

15 second-strike capability of the United States to deter 

16 large-scale nuclear war. 

17 (7) The United States should reject policies 

18 that increase the likelihood of nuclear war and weak19 en national security, including investments in low20 yield nuclear weapons. 

21 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 

22 PRODUCTION, AND DEPLOYMENT OF TRI23 DENT D5 LOW-YIELD NUCLEAR WARHEAD. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi25 sion of law, none of the funds authorized to be approVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:25 Feb 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1086.IH H1086

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1 priated or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2020 

2 or any fiscal year thereafter for the Department of De3 fense or the Department of Energy may be obligated or 

4 expended for the research and development, production, 

5 or deployment of the Trident D5 low-yield nuclear war6 head. 

7 (b) CONFORMING REPEAL AND RESTORATION.—Sec8 tion 3111 of the John S. McCain National Defense Au9 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115– 

10 232; 132 Stat. 2289) is repealed, and the provisions of 

11 law amended by such section are restored as if such sec12 tion had not been enacted. 

Æ 


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