The House Armed Services Committee voted Wednesday in support of the Trump administration plan to add new smaller nuclear weapons into the U.S. arsenal to counter Russia.
The party-line vote added authorization into a 2019 defense policy bill for the Pentagon to pursue new sea-based cruise missiles and lower-yield ballistic missiles launched from submarines.
The Trump administration calls for the weapons in a nuclear posture review released in February as Russia President Vladimir Putin unveiled what he claimed are new missiles that can defeat U.S. defenses and a nuclear submarine drone.
“Russia believes it can use a lower-yield nuclear weapon early in a conflict and the U.S. would back down,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee.
The review headed by the Pentagon found that developing the weapons could deter Russia from believing the U.S. would not risk retaliating with its larger nuclear missiles. Such an exchange could start a full-scale nuclear war.
The military had fielded sea-based cruise missiles before, but they were discontinued under the Obama administration.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the chairman of the committee, said the U.S. has not built new nuclear weapons for decades despite the threat posed by Russia. He also stressed the current arsenal must be modernized.
“Deterring, that ought to be the top priority of all our defense efforts. If you’re going to deter something, your deterrence has to be credible, people have to believe that you would use it,” Thornberry said. “You are not going to be a credible deterrent to the Russians if they outnumber you 10-1 or whatever the number is.”
But Democrats on the committee fear the smaller nuclear weapons could lead to a new arms race and increase the risk of catastrophic war with Russia and other potential adversaries.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said the nuclear plans would mean spending more money than the military can afford and increasing danger by proliferating nuclear weapons that are more likely to be used.
“A nuclear arms race is not good for anybody,” Smith said. “We can have an adequate deterrent with much fewer weapons.”
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., said the bill will send a message to the world that the U.S. is upping the ante on nuclear weapons.
“Honestly, the nuclear posture review scares me and it should scare everyone as it supports policies that place the United States on a path to a nuclear exchange,” Carbajal said.
