[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 196 (Monday, December 19, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1540, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL R. TURNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 14, 2011

  Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, in the FY12 NDAA a drafting error 
was uncovered in section 1045.
  Subsection (c) of section 1045 reads ``If, during any year beginning 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the President makes a proposal 
described in subsection b'' the Commander of STRATCOM shall take a 
prescribed action.
  This provision should have read, ``If, during any year beginning 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the President makes a proposal 
described in paragraph 2'' the Commander of STRATCOM shall take a 
precribed action.
  As the Joint Statement of Managers to the Conference Report makes 
clear:

       Finally, the conference agreement would, in any year in 
     which the President makes a proposal to reduce the number of 
     nuclear weapons in the active or inactive stockpiles of the 
     United States to a level that is lower than the level on the 
     date of enactment of this Act, require the Commander of U.S. 
     Strategic Command to conduct a net assessment of the current 
     and proposed nuclear forces of the United States and of other 
     countries to determine whether the proposed U.S. nuclear 
     forces would be capable of meeting U.S. objectives of nuclear 
     deterrence, extended deterrence, assurance of allies, and 
     defense. The Secretary of Defense would be required to submit 
     the Commander's unaltered net assessment, together with any 
     explanatory views of the Secretary, to the Committees on 
     Armed Services of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives. In any such year, the Administrator of the 
     National Nuclear Security Administration would also be 
     required to submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
     Senate and the House of Representatives, a report describing 
     the current capacities of the U.S. nuclear weapons 
     infrastructure to respond to strategic developments or 
     technical problems in the nuclear weapons stockpile.

  While Congress addresses this, and any other technical corrections 
needed in the bill, I urge STRATCOM and the Administrator of the NNSA 
to construe this legislation per the clear intent.

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