I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2668 
To reduce the number of nuclear-armed submarines operated by the Navy, 
to prohibit the development of a new long-range penetrating bomber 
aircraft, to prohibit the procurement of new intercontinental ballistic 
missiles, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2017 
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Ms. LEE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. 
BONAMICI, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. POLIS, Mr. 
QUIGLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
Services 
A BILL 
To reduce the number of nuclear-armed submarines operated 
by the Navy, to prohibit the development of a new long- 
range penetrating bomber aircraft, to prohibit the pro-
curement of new intercontinental ballistic missiles, and 
for other purposes. 
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 Approach to 
Nuclear Expenditures Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the Soviet 
Union no longer exists, and the Cold War is over. 
The nature of threats to the national security and 
military interests of the United States has changed. 
However, the United States continues to maintain 
an excessively large and costly arsenal of nuclear 
weapons and delivery systems that are a holdover 
from the Cold War. 
(2) The current nuclear arsenal of the United 
States includes approximately 4,000 total nuclear 
warheads in its military stockpile, of which approxi-
mately 1,750 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 89 B–52 and 20 B–2 air-
craft, of which 60 are believed to contribute to the 
nuclear mission. The United States maintains ap-
proximately 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles. 
The United States also maintains 14 Ohio-class sub-
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marines, up to 12 of which are deployed at sea. 
Each of those submarines is armed with approxi-
mately 80 independently targetable nuclear war-
heads. 
(3) The maintenance of this force comes at sig-
nificant cost. Between fiscal years 2017 and 2026, 
the 
United 
States 
will 
spend 
approximately 
$400,000,000 to maintain and recapitalize its nu-
clear force, according to a February 2017 report 
from the Congressional Budget Office. Over 30 
years, spending on nuclear forces could exceed 
$1,000,000,000,000. 
(4) Numerous United States Government offi-
cials have warned of the affordability problem posed 
by the current nuclear weapons sustainment plans, 
cautioning that those plans cannot be executed in 
the absence of significant long-term increases to de-
fense spending or cuts to other military priorities. 
For example, Brian McKeon, former Principal Dep-
uty Under Secretary of Defense stated in October 
2015, ‘‘We’re looking at that big bow wave [in nu-
clear weapons spending] and wondering how the 
heck we’re going to pay for it, and probably thank-
ing our lucky stars we won’t be here to answer the 
question.’’. 
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(5) An April 2017 Government Accountability 
Office report found that there is a significant mis-
match between the 25-year plan of the Department 
of Energy to refurbish the Nation’s nuclear war-
heads and supporting infrastructure, and the De-
partment’s budget estimates. The report also found 
that key warhead life extension programs are likely 
underfunded. 
(6) According to the Congressional Budget Of-
fice’s 2017 long-term budget outlook report, discre-
tionary spending, including national defense spend-
ing, is likely to continue to be constrained even after 
the expiration of sequestration under part C of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.), as amended by 
the Budget Control Act of 2011 (Public Law 112– 
25; 125 Stat. 240), as a result of an aging popu-
lation, rising health care costs, and the rising inter-
est on the national debt. 
(7) A substantial decrease in spending on the 
nuclear arsenal of the United States is prudent for 
both the budget and national security. The current 
plans to sustain the United States nuclear arsenal 
assume that the United States will maintain a nu-
clear arsenal like the one it has now for decades to 
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come. However, the Department of Defense’s June 
2013 nuclear policy guidance entitled, ‘‘Report on 
Nuclear Employment Strategy of the United States’’ 
found that force levels under the Treaty between the 
United States of America and the Russian Federa-
tion on Measures for the Further Reduction and 
Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed on 
April 8, 2010, and entered into force on February 
5, 2011 (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 reduced by up to one-third 
below levels under the New START Treaty to 1,000 
to 1,100 warheads. 
(8) A December 2016 Congressional Budget 
Office report showed that at least 10 percent of the 
projected costs of nuclear forces over the next dec-
ade can be saved by trimming back the current 
plans, while still maintaining a triad of delivery sys-
tems. Even larger savings would accrue over the 
subsequent decade. 
(9) Even without additional reductions below 
the New START Treaty limit of 1,550 deployed 
strategic warheads, the United States can save tens 
of billions of dollars by deploying those warheads 
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more efficiently on delivery systems and by deferring 
production of new delivery systems until they are 
needed. 
(10) As it undertakes its Nuclear Posture Re-
view in 2017, President Donald Trump must seri-
ously examine options to reshape and rescale the 
plans and adequately fund a smaller number of 
projects that would still leave the United States with 
a capable and credible deterrent. 
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 2017 or any fiscal year 
thereafter for the Department of Defense may be obli-
gated or expended for procuring more than eight Colum-
bia-class submarines. 
(b) REDUCTION OF INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC 
MISSILES.—Notwithstanding section 1667 of the National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public 
Law 114–328) or any other provision of law, none of the 
funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 
available for fiscal year 2017 or any fiscal year thereafter 
for the Department of Defense may be obligated or ex-
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pended to maintain more than 150 deployed interconti-
nental ballistic missiles. 
(c) REDUCTION
OF DEPLOYED STRATEGIC WAR-
HEADS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or other-
wise made available for fiscal year 2017 or any fiscal year 
thereafter for the Department of Defense or the Depart-
ment of Energy may be obligated or expended to maintain 
more than 1,000 deployed strategic warheads, as counted 
under the New START Treaty (as defined in section 
495(e) of title 10, United States Code). 
(d) PROHIBITION
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 2017 through 2024 for the Department of De-
fense may be obligated or expended for the research, devel-
opment, test, and evaluation or the procurement of the 
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 2017 or any fiscal year thereafter 
for the Department of Defense or the Department of En-
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