[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 24 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 24
Supporting a robust and modern ICBM force to maximize the value of the
nuclear triad of the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 17, 2019
Mr. Hoeven (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Daines, Mr.
Enzi, and Mr. Tester) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting a robust and modern ICBM force to maximize the value of the
nuclear triad of the United States.
Whereas land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (in this preamble
referred to as ``ICBMs'') have been a critical part of the strategic
deterrent of the United States for 6 decades in conjunction with air and
sea-based strategic delivery systems;
Whereas President John F. Kennedy referred to the deployment of the first
Minuteman missile during the Cuban Missile Crisis as his ``ace in the
hole'';
Whereas the Minuteman III missile entered service in 1970 and is still deployed
in 2019, well beyond its originally intended service life;
Whereas the ICBM force of the United States peaked at more than 1,200 deployed
missiles during the Cold War;
Whereas the ICBM force of the United States currently consists of approximately
400 Minuteman III missiles deployed across 450 operational missile
silos, each carrying a single warhead;
Whereas the Russian Federation currently deploys at least 300 ICBMs with
multiple warheads loaded on each missile and has announced plans to
replace its Soviet-era systems with modernized ICBMs;
Whereas the People's Republic of China currently deploys at least 75 ICBMs and
plans to grow its ICBM force through the deployment of modernized, road-
mobile ICBMs that carry multiple warheads;
Whereas the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China deploy nuclear
weapons across a variety of platforms in addition to their ICBM forces;
Whereas numerous countries possess or are seeking to develop nuclear weapons
capabilities that pose challenges to the nuclear deterrence of the
United States;
Whereas the nuclear deterrent of the United States is comprised of a triad of
delivery systems for nuclear weapons, including submarine-launched
ballistic missiles (in this preamble referred to as ``SLBMs''), air-
delivered gravity bombs and cruise missiles, and land-based ballistic
missiles that provide interlocking and mutually reinforcing attributes
that enhance strategic deterrence;
Whereas weakening one leg of the triad limits the deterrent value of the other
legs of the triad;
Whereas, in the nuclear deterrent of the United States, ICBMs provide commanders
with the most prompt response capability, SLBMs provide stealth and
survivability, and aircraft armed with nuclear weapons provide
flexibility;
Whereas the ICBM force of the United States forces any would-be attacker to
confront more than 400 discrete targets, thus creating an effectively
insurmountable targeting problem for a potential adversary;
Whereas the size, dispersal, and global reach of the ICBM force of the United
States ensures that no adversary can escalate a crisis beyond the
ability of the United States to respond;
Whereas a potential attacker would be forced to expend far more warheads to
destroy the ICBMs of the United States than the United States would lose
in an attack, because of the deployment of a single warhead on each ICBM
of the United States;
Whereas the ICBM force provides a persistent deterrent capability that
reinforces strategic stability;
Whereas ICBMs are the cheapest delivery system for nuclear weapons for the
United States to operate and maintain;
Whereas United States Strategic Command has validated military requirements for
the unique capabilities of ICBMs;
Whereas, in a 2014 analysis of alternatives, the Air Force concluded that
replacing the Minuteman III missile would provide upgraded capabilities
at lower cost when compared with extending the service life of the
Minuteman III missile; and
Whereas the Minuteman III replacement program, known as the ground-based
strategic deterrent, is expected to provide a land-based strategic
deterrent capability for 5 decades after the program enters service:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes that land-based intercontinental ballistic
missiles (in this resolution referred to as ``ICBMs'') have
certain characteristics, including responsiveness, persistence,
and dispersal, that enhance strategic stability and magnify the
deterrent value of the air and sea-based legs of the nuclear
triad of the United States;
(2) emphasizes the role that ICBMs have played and continue
to play in deterring attacks on the United States and its
allies;
(3) observes that while arms control agreements have
reduced the size of the ICBM force of the United States,
adversaries of the United States continue to enhance, enlarge,
and modernize their ICBM forces;
(4) supports the modernization of the ICBM force of the
United States through the ground-based strategic deterrent
program;
(5) highlights that ICBMs have the lowest operation,
maintenance, and modernization costs of any part of the nuclear
deterrent of the United States; and
(6) opposes efforts to unilaterally reduce the size of the
ICBM force of the United States or delay the implementation of
the ground-based strategic deterrent program, which would
degrade the deterrent capabilities of a fully operational and
modernized nuclear triad.
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