,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #abfe  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #aa1 #bjae
 ,mr4 ,rounds 7for himself1 ,mr4        
,hoeven1 ,ms4 ,heitkamp1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1  
,mr4 ,cruz1 and ,mr4 ,cassidy7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a      
,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary of   
,defense to make certain certifications 
to ,congress before retiring ,b-#a1     
,b-#b1 or ,b-#eb bomber aircraft4  #a4  
,short title  ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,long ,range ,bomber ,sustainment  
,act of #bjae4  #b4 ,limitations on     
retirement of ,b-#a1 ,b-#b1 and ,b-#eb  
bomber aircraft ,no ,b-#a1 ,b-#b1 or    
,b-#eb bomber aircraft may be retired   
during a fiscal year unless the         
,secretary of ,defense certifies1 by not
 later than ,march #a of the preceding  
fiscal year1 that--  7#a7 the retirement
 of the aircraft will not detrimentally 
affect the capacity of the ,armed       

,forces of the ,united ,states to carry 
out the full range of long range bomber 
aircraft missions anticipated in        
operational plans of the ,armed ,forces 
in effect as of the date of the         
submission of that certification2  7#b7 
the ,secretary has completed assessments
 of-- 7,a7 planning scenarios that span 
the range of plausible future challenges
 for such aircraft2 and  7,b7 the       
severity1 likelihood1 and imminence of  
risk associated with each such planning 
scenario2  7#c7 the ,secretary has      
concluded1 based on the assessments     
referred to in paragraph 7#b71 that     
retirements of ,b-#a1 ,b-#b1 and ,b-#eb 
bomber aircraft in the near term will   
not detrimentally affect operational    
capability2 and  7#d7 the ,secretary has
 developed a plan to replace any        
operational capability lost as a result 
of the retirement of such bomber        
aircraft4