$738 billion dollar military budget includes funding to deploy "Gateway Nuclear Weapons"

In moves with potentially horrific consequences, Congress is supporting the Trump administration’s push to escalate America’s ability to start and fight a nuclear war—making a nuclear holocaust more likely—and fully funding the administration’s request to go on a nuclear weapons buying spree. These choices make American less safe.

Foremost among the dangerous aspects of this bill is its support for the deployment of the Trump administration’s new W76-2 nuclear warhead—a lower yield Trident submarine weapon designed to make potential adversaries believe the United States will use it. These weapons are a gateway to nuclear catastrophe.

WPSR congratulates House Democrats, who made a valiant effort to push back against this dangerous line of thinking. Under the leadership of House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith, the House NDAA barred deployment of the dangerous W76-2 warhead and made a number of sensible but modest cuts to the full-scale nuclear arsenal replacement plan.

By deploying the W76-2, the United States will tell Russia and the rest of the world that the Trump administration believes a limited nuclear war can be fought and remain controlled. Such thinking is dangerous in the extreme. Once the nuclear threshold has been crossed, no one can have any confidence that the conflict will not escalate to large-scale nuclear use. And in an all-out war between the United States and Russia, tens of millions would die in a few hours. Climate effects from the soot put into the atmosphere by these weapons could kill many millions more worldwide due to severe food shortages.

Beyond that, the final NDAA provides full funding for every element of the Trump administration’s $1.7 trillion, 30-year plan to replace the entire current, oversized nuclear arsenal with a host of more lethal weapons.

The NDAA does nothing to rein in out-of-control military spending, prevent unconstitutional war against Iran, or prevent the deployment of gateway nuclear weapons.

But House and Senate Republicans unequivocally supported every piece of the Trump administration’s dangerous nuclear weapons plan. Their full-throated endorsement is ramping up the growing nuclear arms race with Russia. Regrettably, Senate Democrats did not join their House colleagues in united opposition to the administration’s plans. As a result, nearly every positive step taken by the House was reversed.

In view of the failure of safe and sane nuclear weapons amendments to pass the final bill, all members of Congress should carefully consider their vote on the NDAA. Will this be a vote to oppose a new nuclear arms race, to oppose weapons that make fighting a nuclear war easier, and to support a more secure, less dangerous world? Or will this be a vote to further expand our nuclear arsenals and accelerate the nuclear arms race?