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        I have blogged about new nuclear weapons that the U.S. wants to add to our nuclear arsenal. There has been a serious debate in Congress over whether or not we need some new weapons systems and how much money should be allocated for them.
       The Trump administration has been pushing for the development and deployment of a “low-yield” tactical nuclear warhead that was proposed as part of the February 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. The Secretary of Defense and the Pentagon fully supported the addition of this new weapon to the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The GOP controlled Congress approved the new warhead. It was “fast tracked” for deployment in 2020.
       Control of the U.S. House of Representatives passed to the Democrats in the 2018 elections. On July 12 of this year, the House voted to halt deployment of the new warhead. This marks the first time that the House voted to halt work on a new nuclear weapon in more than a decade. Democratic Representative Adam Smith from Washington State attended a Ploughshares policy conference in November. He said, “It makes no sense for us to build low-yield nuclear weapons. It brings us no advantage and it is dangerously escalating. It just begins a new nuclear arms race with people just building nuclear weapons all across the board in a way that I think places us at greater danger.”
       The Plowshares Fund is a public grantmaking foundation that supports initiatives to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons, and to prevent conflicts that could lead to their use. They were working with allies against the deployment of the new warhead even before the 2018 elections.
       The Ploughshares Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists collaborated in drafting a letter to Congress to express their opposition to the new warhead. The letter was delivered to all members of Congress. Over thirty experts signed the letter including Bill Perry, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Gov. Jerry Brown, former chairman of Strategic Command Gen. James Cartwright, former Sen. Richard Lugar, and Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor and Ploughshares Board Member.
       The Ploughshares Fund teamed with Democratic Representatives Ted Lieu of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts to support a stand-alone bill to prohibit the new warhead. The bill was introduced in September of 2018. It was called the Hold the LYNE (Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive) Act. This bill became an effective focus point for opposition to the new warhead.
      The Ploughshares Fund followed up their earlier letter and the new bill with face-to-face meetings with key Members of Congress. As the date of the vote taken this July approached, the Ploughshare Fund gathered the best advocates of their community to focus efforts. Organizations that cooperated included the Union of Concerned Scientists, Council for a Livable World, Global Zero, Beyond the Bomb, Women’s Action for New Directions, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Arms Control Association, and others.
       As a result of the strenuous efforts by the Plowshares Fund and their allies, votes were won against the new warhead in the House Appropriations Committee, the HASC strategic forces subcommittee, and finally on the House floor. However, the fight over the new warhead is not done. The Senate Defense bill contains full funding for the new warhead. The next step is a conference between the House and Senate to develop a bill that both can agree on. If the new warhead can be removed from the final Defense bill approved by both houses, there is still a chance that the bill could be vetoed by President Trump but it is unlikely. Stay tuned.