WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA), Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) announced the reintroduction of the bicameral Hold the LYNE (Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive) Act. The legislation would prohibit the research, development, production and deployment of a low-yield nuclear warheads for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. So-called low-yield nuclear weapons have the potential to lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons and increase the risk of entering the U.S. into nuclear war. This bill has 22 original co-sponsors in the House.
Upon introduction, the Members said:
“Developing a new ‘low-yield’ nuclear warhead is a fiscal boondoggle and a political mistake. There is no military requirement for this weapon, and its potential use risks a grave miscalculation. Its development is yet another example of how the Trump administration is abdicating American leadership in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons around the world. A nuclear weapon is a nuclear weapon, and the Trump administration’s attempt to market a new one is ill-advised and dangerous. We simply cannot lower the threshold for using a nuclear weapon. No one wins a nuclear war.”
Original House co-sponsors: Rep. Ted Lieu, Rep. Adam Smith, Rep. John Garamendi, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., Rep. James P. McGovern, Rep. Diana DeGette, Rep. Bobby L. Rush, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rep. Chellie Pingree, Rep. Mark Pocan , Rep. Jackie Speier, Rep. Alan Lowenthal, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr. and Rep. Raul Grijalva
Original Senate co-sponsors: Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Chris Murphy, and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The LYNE Act is also supported by: Arms Control Association, Global Zero, Union of Concerned Scientists, Ploughshares, Win Without War, Peace Action, Council for a Livable World, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Beyond the Bomb, Tri-Valley CAREs, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Women’s Action for New Directions, Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Beyond Nuclear, Rocky Flats Right to Know, The Peace Farm, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (Middle East and Disarmament Committees), Nuclear Watch South, Our Developing World, Southwest Research and Information Center, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Federation of American Scientists, Nuclear Watch New Mexico and Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA).
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In January 2019, Rep. Lieu and Sen. Markey re-introduced H.R. 669 and S. 200, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act. First introduced in the 114th Congress, this legislation would prohibit the President from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress.
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