Opening Statements

Today, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled "Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request for Atomic Energy Defense Activities."

"Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Ms. Gordon-Hagerty, Ms. White, and Mr. Hamilton. You all have a great deal of expertise in these important areas and I look forward to your testimony.

"The President's Budget request for the Atomic Energy Defense Activities for Fiscal Year 2020 represents the continued commitment of this Administration to our nuclear modernization efforts. It recognizes the importance of the warhead life extensions, low-yield warhead development and production, and the continuing need to modernize our aging defense-related nuclear infrastructure. While we heard from the Department of Defense's nuclear experts two weeks ago, I recognize that the Department of Energy's efforts work hand-in-hand with the DoD's efforts. Both efforts must be fully funded to ensure an effective nuclear deterrent.

"I'd like to discuss a few areas of this year's President's Budget Request that are particularly important to the oversight role of this subcommittee.

"First, as Ms. Gordon Hagerty outlines in her written testimony there are a number of warhead life extensions, modifications, and alternations to the current nuclear stockpile that are on-going. These weapons activities are directly tied to the DoD's efforts to update the delivery platforms for these warheads, which we heard about two weeks ago from the Department of Defense. The reality is that the majority of weapons in today's stockpile have surpassed their intended design life and therefore are accumulating increased risk. There is no margin for slipping any of the funding for NNSA's Weapons Activities. Deferring funding for these programs is willfully endangering the ability of our nation to provide a credible nuclear deterrent.

"Second, as documented in the Nuclear Posture Review released in 2018, this Administration has decided to field a small number of low-yield ballistic missile warheads in the near-term. The Administration is also pursuing the development of a low-yield submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM). These capabilities will close the "deterrence gap" with our strategic competitors and provide additional assurance to our allies. Specifically, the low-yield capabilities will provide the United States with a timely and effective option to counter Russia's non-strategic nuclear weapons in an "escalate-to-deescalate" scenario. I understand that the warhead development for the low-yield ballistic missile, called the W76-2, is progressing quickly. I look forward to an update on where we are with the W76-2 and future efforts regarding the low-yield SLCM. This is really a study in how efficiently our country can move forward to address critical nuclear deterrence requirements when political will is matched with appropriate resources. And I'd like to thank the NNSA for their hard work on this program.

"Lastly, as Gen Hyten noted in his testimony before this committee two weeks ago "The highest NNSA infrastructure priority is re-establishing a plutonium pit production to meet deterrent requirements. Our national requirement, requires no fewer than 80 war-reserve pits per year by 2030. I support the NNSA plan to achieve this." Plutonium pit production will continue to be a critically important part of the nuclear modernization efforts of this nation. The plans for plutonium pit production by 2030 are ambitious, they are also absolutely necessary for our nuclear enterprise—and so is the funding. The reality is that in many cases the infrastructure where our nuclear weapons are produced date back to the Manhattan Project. Creating the infrastructure to meet the defense requirements for uranium, plutonium, lithium, and tritium are a necessary foundation for our nuclear modernization. I look forward to hearing about how the Department of Energy is investing in this critical capability.

"To the witnesses thank you again for being with us today and I look forward to your testimony."