Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, believes the United States should reconsider plans to modernize all three legs of its nuclear triad.
Speaking July 20 at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., he said that bombers and ballistic missile submarines might provide a sufficient nuclear deterrent, and that tens billions of dollars could be saved by scrapping plans to replace aging land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“We could save an enormous amount of money in this area,” he said. “We really need to focus on having a limited nuclear deterrent that meets our national security objectives and fits our budget.”