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-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smarter Approaches 
to Nuclear Expenditures Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) The United States continues to maintain an 
excessively large and costly arsenal of nuclear deliv-
ery systems and warheads that are a holdover from 
the Cold War. 
(2) The current nuclear arsenal of the United 
States includes approximately 3,708 total nuclear 
warheads in its military stockpile, of which approxi-
mately 1,744 are deployed with five delivery compo-
nents: land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, 
submarine-launched ballistic missiles, long-range 
strategic bomber aircraft armed with nuclear gravity 
bombs, long-range strategic bomber aircraft armed 
with nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missiles, and 
short-range fighter aircraft that can deliver nuclear 
gravity bombs. The strategic bomber fleet of the 
United States comprises 87 B–52 and 20 B–2 air-
craft, over 66 of which contribute to the nuclear 
mission. The United States also maintains 400 
intercontinental ballistic missiles and 14 Ohio-class 
submarines, up to 12 of which are deployed. Each 
of those submarines is armed with approximately 90 
nuclear warheads. 
(3) Between fiscal years 2021 and 2030, the 
United 
States 
will 
spend 
an 
estimated 
$634,000,000,000 to maintain and recapitalize its 
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nuclear force, according to a January 2019 estimate 
from the Congressional Budget Office, an increase of 
$140,000,000,000 from the Congressional Budget 
Office’s 2019 estimate, with 36 percent of that addi-
tional cost stemming ‘‘mainly from new plans for 
modernizing [the Department of Energy’s] produc-
tion facilities and from [the Department of De-
fense’s] modernization programs moving more fully 
into production’’. 
(4) Adjusted for inflation, the Congressional 
Budget Office estimates that the United States will 
spend $634,000,000,000 between 2021 and 2030 on 
new nuclear weapons and modernization and infra-
structure programs, an estimate that in total is 28 
percent higher than the Congressional Budget Of-
fice’s most recent previous estimate of the 10-year 
costs of nuclear forces. 
(5) Inaccurate budget forecasting is likely to 
continue to plague the Department of Defense and 
the Department of Energy, as evidenced by the fis-
cal year 2023 budget request of the President for 
the 
National 
Nuclear 
Security 
Administration 
‘‘Weapon Activities’’ account, which far exceeded 
what the National Nuclear Security Administration 
had projected in previous years. 
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(6) The projected growth in nuclear weapons 
spending is coming due as the Department of De-
fense is seeking to replace large portions of its con-
ventional forces to better compete with the Russian 
Federation and the People’s Republic of China and 
as internal and external fiscal pressures are likely to 
limit the growth of, and perhaps reduce, military 
spending. As then-Air Force Chief of Staff General 
Dave Goldfein said in 2020, ‘‘I think a debate is 
that this will be the first time that the nation has 
tried to simultaneously modernize the nuclear enter-
prise while it’s trying to modernize an aging conven-
tional enterprise. The current budget does not allow 
you to do both.’’. 
(7) In 2023, the Government Accountability Of-
fice released a report entitled ‘‘Nuclear Weapons: 
NNSA Does Not Have a Comprehensive Schedule or 
Cost Estimate for Pit Production Capability’’, stat-
ing the National Nuclear Security Administration 
‘‘had limited assurance that it would be able to 
produce sufficient numbers of pits in time’’ to meet 
the requirement under section 4219 of the Atomic 
Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2538a) that the Na-
tional Nuclear Security Administration produce 80 
plutonium pits by 2030. 
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(8) According to the Government Accountability 
Office, the National Nuclear Security Administration 
has still not factored affordability concerns into its 
planning as was recommended by the Government 
Accountability Office in 2017, with the warning that 
‘‘it is essential for NNSA to present information to 
Congress and other key decision makers indicating 
whether the agency has prioritized certain mod-
ernization programs or considered trade-offs (such 
as deferring or cancelling specific modernization pro-
grams)’’. Instead, the budget estimate of the De-
partment of Energy for nuclear modernization ac-
tivities during the period of fiscal years 2021 
through 
2025 
was 
$81,000,000,000— 
$15,000,000,000 more than the 2020 budget esti-
mate of the Department for the same period. 
(9) A December 2020 Congressional Budget 
Office analysis showed that the projected costs of 
nuclear forces over the next decade can be reduced 
by $12,400,000,000 to $13,600,000,000 by trim-
ming back current plans, while still maintaining a 
triad of delivery systems. Even larger savings would 
accrue over the subsequent decade. 
(10) The Department of Defense’s June 2013 
nuclear policy guidance entitled ‘‘Report on Nuclear 
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Employment Strategy of the United States’’ found 
that force levels under the April 2010 Treaty on 
Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation 
of Strategic Offensive Arms between the United 
States and the Russian Federation (commonly 
known as the ‘‘New START Treaty’’) ‘‘are more 
than adequate for what the United States needs to 
fulfill its national security objectives’’ and can be re-
duced by up to 1⁄3 below levels under the New 
START Treaty to 1,000 to 1,100 warheads. 
(11) Former President Trump expanded the 
role of, and spending on, nuclear weapons in United 
States policy at the same time that he withdrew 
from, unsigned, or otherwise terminated a series of 
important arms control and nonproliferation agree-
ments. 
SEC. 3. REDUCTIONS IN NUCLEAR FORCES. 
(a) 
REDUCTION
OF
NUCLEAR-ARMED
SUB-
MARINES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or other-
wise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year 
thereafter for the Department of Defense may be obli-
gated or expended for purchasing more than eight Colum-
bia-class submarines. 
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(b) REDUCTION
OF GROUND-BASED MISSILES.— 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning in 
fiscal year 2024, the forces of the Air Force shall include 
not more than 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles. 
(c) REDUCTION
OF DEPLOYED STRATEGIC WAR-
HEADS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, be-
ginning in fiscal year 2024, the forces of the United States 
Military shall include not more than 1,000 deployed stra-
tegic warheads, as that term is defined in the New START 
Treaty. 
(d) LIMITATION
ON
NEW
LONG-RANGE
PENE-
TRATING
BOMBER
AIRCRAFT.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, none of the funds authorized to 
be appropriated or otherwise made available for any of fis-
cal years 2024 through 2028 for the Department of De-
fense may be obligated or expended for purchasing more 
than 80 B–21 long-range penetrating bomber aircraft. 
(e) PROHIBITION
ON F–35 NUCLEAR MISSION.— 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 
funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 
available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter 
for the Department of Defense or the Department of En-
ergy may be used to make the F–35 Joint Strike Fighter 
aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons. 
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(f) PROHIBITION ON NEW AIR-LAUNCHED CRUISE 
MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or other-
wise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year 
thereafter for the Department of Defense or the Depart-
ment of Energy may be obligated or expended for the re-
search, development, test, and evaluation or procurement 
of the long-range stand-off weapon or any other new air- 
launched cruise missile or for the W80 warhead life exten-
sion program. 
(g) PROHIBITION ON NEW INTERCONTINENTAL BAL-
LISTIC MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or 
otherwise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal 
year thereafter for the Department of Defense may be ob-
ligated or expended for the research, development, test, 
and evaluation or procurement of the LGM–35 Sentinel, 
previously known as the ground-based strategic deterrent, 
or any new intercontinental ballistic missile. 
(h) TERMINATION OF URANIUM PROCESSING FACIL-
ITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none 
of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise 
made available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year 
thereafter for the Department of Defense or the Depart-
ment of Energy may be obligated or expended for the Ura-
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nium Processing Facility located at the Y–12 National Se-
curity Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 
(i) PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT AND DEPLOY-
MENT OF NEW LOW-YIELD WARHEAD.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, none of the funds authorized 
to be appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal 
year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter for the Department 
of Defense or the Department of Energy may be obligated 
or expended to deploy the W76–2 low-yield nuclear war-
head or any other low-yield or nonstrategic nuclear war-
head. 
(j) PROHIBITION ON NEW SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED 
CRUISE MISSILE.—Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated 
or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2024 or any 
fiscal year thereafter for the Department of Defense or 
the Department of Energy may be obligated or expended 
for the research, development, test, and evaluation or pro-
curement of a new submarine-launched cruise missile ca-
pable of carrying a low-yield or nonstrategic nuclear war-
head, as the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review found this sys-
tem ‘‘no longer necessary’’. 
(k) LIMITATION ON PLUTONIUM PIT PRODUCTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, none of the funds authorized to be 
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appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal 
year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter for the De-
partment of Defense or the Department of Energy 
may be obligated or expended for expanding produc-
tion of plutonium pits at the Los Alamos National 
Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, or the Savan-
nah River Site, South Carolina, until the Adminis-
trator for Nuclear Security submits to the appro-
priate committees of Congress an integrated master 
schedule and total estimated cost for the National 
Nuclear Security Administration’s overall plutonium 
pit production effort during the period of 2025 
through 2035. 
(2) 
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
SCHEDULE.—The 
schedule required to be submitted under paragraph 
(1) shall— 
(A) include timelines, resources, and budg-
ets for planned work; and 
(B) be consistent with modern manage-
ment standards and best practices as described 
in guidelines of the Government Accountability 
Office. 
(l) PROHIBITION
ON
SUSTAINMENT
OF
B83–1 
BOMB.—Notwithstanding other provision of law, none of 
the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 
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available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter 
for the Department of Defense or the Department of En-
ergy may be obligated or expended for the sustainment 
of the B83–1 bomb, as the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review 
declared the B83–1 ‘‘will be retired’’. 
(m) PROHIBITION ON SPACE-BASED MISSILE DE-
FENSE.—Notwithstanding other provision of law, none of 
the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 
available for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter 
for the Department of Defense or the Department of En-
ergy may be obligated or expended for the research, devel-
opment, test, and evaluation or procurement of a space- 
based missile defense system. 
(n) PROHIBITION ON THE W–93 WARHEAD.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds 
authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available 
for fiscal year 2024 or any fiscal year thereafter for the 
Department of Defense or the Department of Energy may 
be obligated or expended for the procurement and deploy-
ment of a W–93 warhead on a submarine launched bal-
listic missile. 
SEC. 4. REPORTS REQUIRED. 
(a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly submit 
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to the appropriate committees of Congress a report out-
lining the plan of each Secretary to carry out section 3. 
(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 1, 
2024, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense 
and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress a report outlining the 
plan of each Secretary to carry out section 3, including 
any updates to previously submitted reports. 
(c) ANNUAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS ACCOUNTING.— 
Not later than September 30, 2024, and annually there-
after, the President shall transmit to the appropriate com-
mittees of Congress a report containing a comprehensive 
accounting by the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget of the amounts obligated and expended by the 
Federal Government for each nuclear weapon and related 
nuclear program during— 
(1) the fiscal year covered by the report; and 
(2) the life cycle of such weapon or program. 
(d) COST ESTIMATE REPORT.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
outlining the estimated cost savings that result from car-
rying out section 3. 
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SEC. 5. APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE-
FINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of 
Congress’’ means— 
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
Appropriations, and the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate; and 
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
Appropriations, the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and the Committee on Natural Resources of 
the House of Representatives. 
Æ 
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