Top U.S. defense and energy officials testified Thursday in support of current U.S. nuclear modernization priorities and dismissed rumors that President Barack Obama plans to take nonproliferation steps in the final months of his presidency that have not been agreed upon in Congress.
Responding to questions about these rumors, witnesses at a House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing cautiously refuted claims that the United States is considering changing its nuclear posture by declaring a “no first use” policy. Current U.S. nuclear policy leaves the door open for first use against nuclear-weapon states, but only under extreme circumstances.
“I could not imagine that we could change the policy without talking to our allies and friends who would be affected by this,” said Robert Scher, assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities. “No such official discussions are taking place. There has been no decision within the administration to change the no-first-use policy.”
“The current policy has served us well over many years,” said Adm. Cecil Haney, head of U.S. Strategic Command. “We need to be very careful given the directions and developments that we see around the world that we do everything in our power to maintain strategic stability.”
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) asked whether the Obama administration is considering extending the New START treaty between the United States and Russia for another five years, which would delay the accord’s expiration until 2026. Scher said that while the treaty provides for that option, Obama does not necessarily need to take that path. Scher did not offer further details on the administration’s intentions.
New START, signed in 2010 by Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, caps both nations’ arsenals by February 2018 at 700 deployed ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers; 1,500 fielded strategic warheads; and 800 deployed and non-deployed long-range launchers. The treaty expires in 2021.
Scher was also asked to confirm that the administration is not considering skirting the Senate’s ratification authority for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by seeking a global nuclear testing prohibition via a United Nations Security Council resolution. He responded that Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, “assured me that there is nothing that she is thinking of” to take away the Senate’s authority to ratify treaties.
The witnesses also defended the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent and Long-Range Standoff missile development programs. Gen. Robin Rand, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said delaying those projects “would be a great concern to me.” In the case of LRSO, a new air-launched nuclear cruise missile, Rand said a survivable new weapon system is necessary to offer high probability of hitting targets and to sustain those capabilities as the current air-launched cruise missile ages out.
Frank Klotz, National Nuclear Security Administration administrator, said the Sandia National Laboratories reported that a five-year delay of the LRSO program would require moving 300 to 600 newly trained staff members to other programs, or losing staff by attrition.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) then pressed Scher on the Defense Department’s cost estimates for nuclear modernization, which include bombers, ICBMs, and nuclear submarines. Scher said the cost over 20 years would be an estimated $350 billion to $450 billion. Garamendi noted, though, that the Congressional Budget Office estimated nuclear modernization would actually cost $348 billion over the next 10 years.
Scher reaffirmed his cost estimate for recapitalization of the three legs of the nuclear triad, including the Ohio-class submarine replacement, LRSO, GBSD, and delivery systems – excluding warheads. “You disassembled the truth by eliminating from the discussion extraordinary costs associated with the bombs, with the command and control, the production facilities, and the cleanup,” Garamendi pushed back. “Your numbers are bullshit.”
