{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senators-to-trump-administration_reject-calls-for-new-nuclear-weapons", "Senators to Trump Administration:  Reject Calls for New Nuclear Weapons", "2017-11-30", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.30.17\n\t\t\t Senators to Trump Administration:  Reject Calls for New Nuclear Weapons \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Senators also want rising costs of modernization effort addressed in next Nuclear Posture Review\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) joined Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and 12 other Senators today to urge the Trump administration to reject calls for new nuclear weapons and to reevaluate the affordability of the current nuclear modernizations effort in the next Nuclear Posture Review.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMany of us oppose the development of new nuclear weapons and believe that the sole purpose of our nuclear arsenal is to deter a nuclear attack,\u201d the senators wrote. \u201cIn light of the CBO report, it is now also clear that developing new nuclear weapons is unaffordable, and would force tradeoffs between needed investments in our conventional capabilities.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The full text of the letter follows:\r\n\u00a0\r\nNovember 30, 2017\r\nDear Secretaries Tillerson, Mattis and Perry:\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As you finalize the administration\u2019s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), we strongly urge you to consider the Congressional Budget Office\u2019s (CBO) recent analysis of the increasing cost of the existing nuclear modernization plan. In light of the CBO\u2019s findings, we urge you to incorporate the CBO\u2019s analysis into the NPR process so that the review\u2019s recommendations are affordable, strictly necessary to maintain deterrence, and do not force the nation to choose between an increasingly costly nuclear modernization program and maintaining conventional superiority.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The CBO makes clear that the administration\u2019s current nuclear modernization plan is unaffordable and will reduce our ability to make necessary investments in our conventional capabilities. The CBO reported that the administration\u2019s plan will cost up to $1.7 trillion, with inflation, over the next 30 years, with an annual cost of approximately $50 billion in the 2030s. The agency noted that these costs would \u201cdirectly compete for funding with other defense priorities,\u201d principally planned investments in our conventional systems, at a time when defense spending is likely to be constrained by long-term fiscal pressures.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The CBO also detailed options to significantly alter the existing modernization plan while still meeting our deterrence requirements. Specifically, the CBO outlined nine options that would either cancel or delay specific nuclear weapons systems, or reduce the number of deployed warheads in line with the Defense Department\u2019s 2013 Nuclear Employment Strategy. The CBO also considered the possibility of forgoing modernization of select triad components without risking a failure of deterrence. Clearly the existing modernization plan is not sacrosanct.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many of us oppose the development of new nuclear weapons and believe that the sole purpose of our nuclear arsenal is to deter a nuclear attack. In light of the CBO report, it is now also clear that developing new nuclear weapons is unaffordable, and would force tradeoffs between needed investments in our conventional capabilities. We urge you to reject calls to develop new low-yield weapons or to increase nuclear delivery systems beyond those already planned, which are simply divorced from budgetary realities.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many of us have opposed certain aspects of the nuclear modernization plan as unnecessary and destabilizing. The CBO\u2019s report makes clear, at a minimum, that the existing plan is unaffordable and needs revision. We strongly urge you to incorporate the CBO\u2019s findings into the review process so that the NPR can offer a realistic path to maintaining deterrence.\r\nSincerely,\u00a0\r\nDianne Feinstein\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nEdward J. Markey\r\nPatrick Leahy\u00a0\r\nRichard J. Durbin\r\nTammy Baldwin\r\nChris Van Hollen\r\nAl Franken\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nElizabeth Warren\r\nSheldon Whitehouse\u00a0\u00a0\r\nRon Wyden\r\nJeff Merkley\u00a0 \u00a0\r\nPatty Murray\r\nBernard Sanders\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nBrian Schatz\r\nKamala D. Harris\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tDavid Carle: 202-224-3693\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senators-to-trump-administration_reject-calls-for-new-nuclear-weapons"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.9394120685756207, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}