WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA), Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the bicameral Hold the LYNE—or Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive—Act. The legislation would prohibit the research, develop, production, and deployment of a low-yield nuclear warheads for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. So-called low-yield nuclear weapons have the potential to lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons and increase the risk of entering the U.S. into nuclear war.
Upon introduction, Ranking Member Smith said:
“We should not fund President Trump’s request for new low-yield nuclear weapons. His proposal dangerously lowers the threshold to nuclear use and siphons money away from genuine military readiness needs. We already have a nuclear deterrent that is more than adequate to achieve our national security goals. Funding new, low-yield weapons would only draw us further into an unnecessary nuclear arms race and increase the risks of miscalculation.”
Upon introduction, Rep. Lieu said:
“There’s no such thing as a low-yield nuclear war. Use of any nuclear weapon, regardless of its killing power, could be catastrophically destabilizing. It opens the door for severe miscalculation and could drag the U.S. and our allies into a devastating nuclear conflict. That’s why Reps. Smith, Garamendi and Blumenauer, and Sen. Markey in the Senate, introduced the Hold the LYNE Act, to ensure we won’t lower our standards for launching a nuclear weapon.”
Upon introduction, Rep. Garamendi said:
“I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this critical piece of legislation. My previous efforts to prohibit the authorization and funding to develop a low-yield nuclear warhead for the Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile were narrowly defeated. These unnecessary warheads will increase the risk of nuclear war and further fuel a dangerous arms race. Furthermore, we’re already on track to spend over $1.2 trillion over the next thirty years to modernize and maintain our current nuclear arsenal, and that figure does not take into account these new weapons. Both I and my colleagues remain concerned about the direction our nuclear forces are headed, which is why we have joined efforts in introducing this important bill.”
Upon introduction, Rep. Blumenauer said:
“Despite their misleading name, so-called ‘low-yield’ nuclear weapons are highly destabilizing and increase the likelihood of nuclear war. We should abandon our focus on outdated Cold War tactics and focus on the strategic challenges we face today, including accounting for the irresponsible spending on weapons we can’t afford to build and the world can’t afford for us to use.”
Upon introduction, Sen. Markey said:
“Developing a ‘low-yield’ nuclear warhead for America’s ballistic missile submarine fleet is the height of fiscal and political folly. There is no military requirement for this weapon. Its indistinguishability from any other submarine-launched nuclear weapon risks a miscalculation. Its development is just a further example of how the Trump administration is surrendering decades of American leadership that have helped move the world away from the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. A nuclear weapon is a nuclear weapon, and the Trump administration’s attempts to market a new one are ill-advised and dangerous.”
The LYNE Act has been endorsed by: Arms Control Association, Global Zero, Union of Concerned Scientists, Ploughshares, Win Without War, Peace Action, Council for a Livable World, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Beyond the Bomb, Tri-Valley CARES, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Women’s Action for New Directions, Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Beyond Nuclear, Rocky Flats Right to Know, The Peace Farm, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (Middle East and Disarmament Committees), Nuclear Watch South, Our Developing World, Southwest Research and Information Center, and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety.
###