Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review:

“In the past, Nuclear Posture Reviews have considered in depth the crucial role played by efforts to enhance strategic stability and prevent nuclear proliferation. It is important that this review do the same. I hope that it includes a thorough assessment of policy options that would allow us to avoid a costly and dangerous nuclear arms race; and that it properly analyzes the enormous risks inherent in lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons. Nuclear nonproliferation efforts have successfully limited the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, and kept them out of the hands of terrorists. Such policies must also be a major component of this review. 

“This is a time for a thoughtful assessment of our nuclear weapons posture that enhances our national security, rather than increasing the risk of nuclear war. With over 4,000 nuclear weapons, we have enough destructive power in our arsenal to destroy the world several times over. It is time to rethink what the priorities should be for a strong yet affordable nuclear arsenal, rather than embarking on a trillion-dollar modernization plan that will drag us into perilous nuclear competition and drain much-needed resources from conventional weapon systems and nondefense programs.”

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