CHAIRMAN THORNBERRY'S OPENING REMARKS

Mar 8, 2017
Press Release

WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following opening statement, as prepared for delivery, at the hearing entitled, "Military Assessment of Nuclear Deterrence Requirements." For testimony and other information or to watch the hearing click here.

"The nation’s strategic deterrent is the foundation upon which the rest of our defense efforts are built. We simply cannot allow it to weaken or crack.

And yet we have neglected it for some time while others have not only invested in their nuclear systems, but advanced their capability.

Our strategic deterrent consists of the delivery systems—the three legs of the triad—and also the nuclear weapons themselves and the command and control systems.  

Our Minuteman III missiles were first fielded in 1970. Our B-52 and B-2 bombers were first deployed in the 1950s and the 1980s. Our ballistic missile submarines began entering service in 1981, and like the other legs have a limited life span.

The warheads themselves were largely designed and built in the 1970s or before—and the last time a warhead was fully tested was 1991.

And so, for years some of our most brilliant scientists and engineers have been working to keep these complex machines safe, secure, reliable, and credible without being able to test the entire weapon. They have done so in aging, neglected facilities with an aging workforce.

Similarly, the command and control system for our deterrent has not received the attention something so vital should have.

Meanwhile, our potential adversaries develop and field new delivery systems, and they develop and field new warheads. And confidence in the U.S. strategic deterrent erodes. I am sure all of you noticed the articles over the last few days which reported that Europe was considering developing its own nuclear deterrent if they can no longer count on ours. The same may well be true in Asia.

Some say we cannot afford to update this part of our defenses. But, depending on how one allocates the cost of the new bomber, operating, sustaining, and updating our strategic deterrent never requires more than roughly 6 to 7 percent of our defense budget. As former Secretary of Defense Carter and others have pointed out, this is affordable because it is our highest priority defense mission.

Contemplating a world without a reliable American strategic deterrent is a nightmare the modern world has never had to face, and I hope it never does.

The Committee has a number of events this week focusing on this topic. Today we are grateful to have several of our top military leaders to help us consider what our strategic deterrent means for American national security.

This hearing and the Committee’s broader series on nuclear deterrence will remind us, the American people, our allies, and our potential adversaries that the U.S. strategic deterrent must always be credible and must always ready."