PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 25, 2017
Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act
This bill prohibits the obligation or expenditure of Department of Defense (DOD) funds: (1) for procuring more than eight Columbia-class submarines; (2) to maintain more than 150 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles; or (3) through FY2024, for the research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) or the procurement of the B-21 long-range penetrating bomber aircraft.
The bill prohibits the obligation or expenditure of DOD or Department of Energy (DOE) funds:
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
to maintain more than 1,000 deployed strategic warheads, as counted under the New START Treaty;
to make the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons;
for extending the life of tactical versions of the B61 gravity bomb;
for the RDT&E or procurement of a new air-launched cruise missile or for the W80 warhead life extension program;
for the RDT&E or procurement of the ground-based strategic deterrent or any new intercontinental ballistic missile;
for the IW-1 life extension program;
for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina; or
for the Uranium Processing Facility located at the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
DOD and DOE must report to Congress on the plans for, and the estimated cost savings from, carrying out this bill.
People & committees
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] · D–MA
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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