,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bdbb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bc1     
#bjbe ,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,sanders1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 and ,mr4 ,van  
,hollen7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a     
,,bill  ,to pause development of the new
 ,sentinel program1 extend the life of  
the ,minuteman ,,iii1 and redirect      
savings from ,sentinel toward the       
,department of ,education1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4  ,short title  ,this    
,act may be cited as the ,investing in  
,children ,before ,missiles ,act of     
#bjbe or the ,,icbm ,act4  #b4          
,findings  ,congress finds the          
following3 7#a7 ,according to the       
,congressional ,budget ,office1 the     
projected cost to sustain and modernize 
the ,united ,states nuclear arsenal1 as 
of #bjbe1 is #idf billion over the      
#bjbe-bjcd period1 or an average of     
about #ie billion a year1 and nuclear   

forces account for #h4d percent of the  
total #aj-year cost of the plans for    
national defense outlined in the        
,president's #bjbe budget submission4   
7#b7 ,in ,september #bjbj1 the ,air     
,force awarded a sole-source contract to
 ,northrop ,grumman for the ground-based
 strategic deterrent program 7now called
 ,sentinel intercontinental ballistic   
missile program71 raising concerns that 
the absence of competition for the award
 would result in higher than projected  
costs to ,united ,states taxpayers4 ,the
 program is intended to replace #djj    
deployed ,minuteman ,,iii missiles with 
more than #fjj new missiles1 to allow   
for test flights and spares4  7#c7 ,the 
,sentinel program has encountered       
significant cost growth and schedule    
delays in recent years1 and the full    
extent of both remains uncertain as the 
,department of ,defense is currently    
restructuring the program4  7#d7 ,in    
,january #bjbd1 increases in the total  
costs of the ,sentinel program triggered

 a review under chapter #cbe of title   
#aj1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly    
known as the ,nunn-,mc,curdy ,act71     
which is intended to determine whether a
 program that has experienced large cost
 overruns should continue1 and what1 if 
any1 changes should be made to control  
costs4  7#e7 ,in ,july #bjbd1 the       
,department of ,defense completed that  
review and released a new estimate of   
total costs for the program of          
#ada1jjj1jjj1jjj in constant #bjbj      
dollars1 which is #ha percent 7or       
#fc1jjj1jjj1jjj7 larger than the        
program's baseline #bjbj estimate of    
#gh1jjj1jjj1jjj4 ,the total estimated   
life cycle cost of the ,sentinel program
 7not including warheads7 was estimated 
by the ,department of ,defense to be    
#bfj1jjj1jjj1jjj in #bjbj and is        
undoubtedly higher today4  7#f7 ,in ,may
 #bjbe1 the ,air ,force announced the   
,sentinel program will likely           
predominantly require digging fresh     
missile silos1 a significant change from

 previous plans to reuse existing silos 
and a move that would likely cause      
further significant cost increases and  
schedule delays4  7#g7 ,according to    
public reports1 officials of the        
,department of ,defense expect the      
restructuring effort to delay the       
,sentinel program by several years4 ,the
 ,department of ,defense's #bjbe budget 
plans called for initial operating      
capability to be achieved in ,may #bjbi1
 a date that1 as of the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 looks           
unachievable4 ,the ,air ,force is       
considering contingency plans that would
 extend the life of ,minuteman ,,iii    
intercontinental ballistic missiles by  
#aa more years to #bjej if delays       
continue to plague the ,sentinel        
missiles intended to replace them4  7#h7
 ,the ,national ,nuclear ,security      
,administration is developing a         
replacement intercontinental ballistic  
missile warhead1 the ,w#hg-a1 for the   
,sentinel and expanding plutonium pit   

production to build new warhead cores1  
costing at least #ad1jjj1jjj1jjj and    
#ah1jjj1jjj1jjj1 respectively4  7#i7    
,even in the absence of an              
intercontinental ballistic missile leg  
of the triad1 the ,united ,states would 
have an assured retaliatory capability  
in the form of multiple ballistic       
missile submarines1 which are virtually 
undetectable1 and there are no known1   
near-term credible threats to the       
survivability of the ballistic missile  
submarine force4 ,the survivability of  
the submarine force will be enhanced as 
the ,department of ,defense moves to    
replace the ,ohio class ballistic       
submarine fleet with the new ,columbia  
class ballistic missile fleet4  7#aj7   
,while intercontinental ballistic       
missiles have historically been the most
 responsive leg of the ,united ,states  
nuclear triad1 advances in ballistic    
missile submarine communications to     
allow for the dissemination of emergency
 action messages in wartime have negated

 that advantage4  7#aa7                 
,intercontinental ballistic missiles    
based in silos are vulnerable and1 once 
launched1 cannot be recalled1 leaving   
decisionmakers with mere minutes to     
decide whether to launch the missiles   
before they are destroyed1 known as a   
posture of launch on warning or launch  
under attack in the face of a perceived 
nuclear attack1 greatly increasing the  
risk of a national leader initiating a  
nuclear war by mistake4  7#ab7 ,under   
current policy1 the ,president has the  
authority-- 7,a7 to launch ,united      
,states nuclear weapons first and is not
 limited to retaliation2  7,b7 to launch
 nuclear weapons under warning of       
attack1 rather than waiting for evidence
 of attack2 and  7,c7 to launch nuclear 
weapons on the ,president's sole order4 
7#ac7 ,false alarms have happened       
multiple times and can happen again4    
,for example1 in #aihj1 a false alarm   
was reported to the ,assistant to the   
,president for ,national ,security      

,affairs and was almost reported up to  
,president ,jimmy ,carter as a real     
attack but was luckily identified in    
time4 ,recent ,pentagon reports have    
found that1 as a result of cyberattacks1
 the ,president could be faced with     
false warnings of attack or lose the    
ability to control nuclear weapons4     
7#ad7 ,in #aihc1 ,stanislav ,petrov1 a  
former lieutenant colonel of the ,soviet
 ,air ,defense ,forces correctly        
identified a false warning in an early  
warning system that showed several      
,united ,states incoming nuclear        
missiles1 preventing ,soviet leaders    
from launching a retaliatory response1  
earning ,colonel ,petrov the nickname   
the man who saved the world4  7#ae7     
,former ,secretary of ,defense ,william 
,j4 ,perry wrote that the ground-based  
leg of the nuclear triad is             
destabilizing because it invites an     
attack and intercontinental ballistic   
missiles are some of the most dangerous 
weapons in the world and could even     

trigger an accidental nuclear war4      
7#af7 ,general ,james ,cartwright1      
former vice chair of the ,joint ,chiefs 
of ,staff and former ,commander of the  
,united ,states ,strategic ,command1    
wrote1 with ,secretary ,perry1 ,the     
greatest danger is not a ,russian bolt  
but a ,,us blunder--that we might       
accidentally stumble into nuclear war4  
,as we make decisions about which       
weapons to buy1 we should use this      
simple rule3 ,if a nuclear weapon       
increases the risk of accidental war and
 is not needed to deter an intentional  
attack1 we should not build it4 '''     
,certain nuclear weapons1 such as '''   
the intercontinental ballistic missile1 
carry higher risks of accidental war    
that1 fortunately1 we no longer need to 
bear4 ,we are safer without these       
expensive weapons1 and it would be      
foolish to replace them44  7#ag7        
,general ,george ,lee ,butler1 the      
former ,commander-in-,chief of the      
,strategic ,air ,command and            

subsequently ,commander-in-,chief of the
 ,united ,states ,strategic ,command1   
said1 ,i would have removed land-based  
missiles from our arsenal a long time   
ago4 ,i'd be happy to put that mission  
on the submarines4 ,so1 with a          
significant fraction of bombers having a
 nuclear weapons capability that can be 
restored to alert very quickly1 and with
 even a small component of ,trident     
submarines--with all those missiles and 
all those warheads on patrol--it's hard 
to imagine we couldn't get by44  7#ah7  
,while a sudden bolt from the blue first
 strike from a near-peer nuclear        
adversary is a highly unlikely scenario1
 extending the ,minuteman ,,iii would   
maintain the purported role of the      
intercontinental ballistic missile leg  
of the triad to absorb such an attack4  
#c4  ,statement of policy on ,minuteman 
,,iii1 ,sentinel1 and education funding 
,it is the policy of the ,united ,states
 that--  7#a7 as of the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 the ,sentinel   

program is significantly over budget and
 behind schedule and should be paused   
and reevaluated for need and technical  
merit2  7#b7 the operational life of the
 ,minuteman ,,iii missile should be     
safely extended until at least #bjej2   
and  7#c7 investments in the ,department
 of ,education are a better use of      
,united ,states taxpayer resources than 
continuing with the current ,sentinel   
program4  #d4  ,availability of funds   
for education instead of ,sentinel  7a7 
,transfer from ,department of ,defense  
,the ,secretary of ,defense shall       
transfer all amounts appropriated to the
 ,department of ,defense for the        
research1 development1 test1 and        
evaluation of the ,sentinel program1 and
 available for obligation as of the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 to the  
,department of ,education to carry out  
part ,a of title ,i of the ,elementary  
and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 
7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #fcaa et seq474  7b7     
,transfer from ,national ,nuclear       

,security ,administration  ,the         
,secretary of ,energy shall transfer all
 amounts appropriated to the ,national  
,nuclear ,security ,administration for  
the ,w#hg-a warhead modification        
program1 and available for obligation as
 of the date of the enactment of this   
,act1 to the ,department of ,education  
to carry out part ,a of title ,i of the 
,elementary and ,secondary ,education   
,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #fcaa et   
seq474  #e4  ,prohibition on use of     
funds for ground-based strategic        
deterrent program and ,w#hg-a warhead   
modification program  ,none of the funds
 authorized to be appropriated or       
otherwise made available for fiscal year
 #bjbf may be obligated or expended for 
the ,sentinel program or the ,w#hg-a    
warhead modification program4  #f4      
,independent study on extension of      
,minuteman ,,iii intercontinental       
ballistic missiles  7a7  ,independent   
study  ,not later than #cj days after   
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 

the ,secretary of ,defense shall seek to
 enter into a contract with the         
,national ,academy of ,sciences to      
conduct a study on extending the life of
 ,minuteman ,,iii intercontinental      
ballistic missiles to #bjej or beyond4  
7b7  ,staffing  7#a7  ,experts  ,the    
conduct of the study required by        
subsection 7a7 shall include input from 
a wide variety of technical and subject 
matter experts4  7#b7  ,prohibition on  
certain ,air ,force employees  ,no      
member or former member of the ,air     
,force or employee or former employee of
 the ,department of the ,air ,force who 
is or was paid for work relating to the 
,sentinel program may participate in the
 conduct of the study required by       
subsection 7a74  7c7  ,elements  ,the   
study required by subsection 7a7 shall  
address the following3 7#a7 ,a          
comparison of the costs through #bjej   
of--  7,a7 extending the life of        
,minuteman ,,iii intercontinental       
ballistic missiles2 and  7,b7 deploying 

the ,sentinel program4  7#b7 ,an        
analysis of opportunities to incorporate
 technologies into the ,minuteman ,,iii 
intercontinental ballistic missile      
program as part of a service life       
extension program that could also be    
incorporated in a possible future       
,sentinel program1 including1 at a      
minimum1 opportunities to increase      
resilience against adversary missile    
defenses4  7#c7 ,an analysis of the     
benefits and risks of incorporating     
sensors and nondestructive testing      
methods and technologies to reduce      
destructive testing requirements and    
increase the service life and number of 
,minuteman ,,iii missiles through #bjej4
  7#d7 ,an analysis and validation of   
the methods used to estimate the        
operational service life of ,minuteman  
,,ii and ,minuteman ,,iii motors1 taking
 into account the test and launch       
experience of motors retired after the  
operational service life of such motors 
in the rocket systems launch program4   

7#e7 ,an analysis of the risks and      
benefits of alternative methods of      
estimating the operational service life 
of ,minuteman ,,iii motors1 such as     
those methods based on fundamental      
physical and chemical processes and     
nondestructive measurements of          
individual motor properties4  7#f7 ,an  
analysis of risks1 benefits1 and costs  
of configuring a ,trident ,,ii ,d#e     
submarine-launched ballistic missile for
 deployment in a ,minuteman ,,iii silo4 
7#g7 ,an analysis of the impacts of the 
estimated service life of the ,minuteman
 ,,iii force associated with decreasing 
the deployed intercontinental ballistic 
missiles delivery vehicle force from    
#djj to #cjj or less4  7#h7 ,an         
assessment of the extent to which the   
,columbia class ballistic missile       
submarines will possess features that   
will enhance the current invulnerability
 of ballistic missile submarines of the 
,united ,states to future antisubmarine 
warfare threats4  7#i7 ,an analysis of  

the extent to which an extension of the 
life of the ,minuteman ,,iii missiles   
would impact the decision of the        
,russian ,federation to target          
intercontinental ballistic missiles of  
the ,united ,states in a crisis1        
compared to proceeding with the         
,sentinel4  7#aj7 ,a best case estimate 
of what percentage of the strategic     
forces of the ,united ,states would     
survive a counterforce strike from the  
,russian ,federation1 broken down by    
intercontinental ballistic missiles1    
ballistic missile submarines1 and heavy 
bomber aircraft4  7#aa7 ,the benefits1  
risks1 and costs of relying on the      
,w-#gh warhead for either the ,minuteman
 ,,iii or a new ,sentinel missile as    
compared to proceeding with the ,w-#hg  
life extension4  7#ab7 ,the benefits1   
risks1 and costs of adding additional   
launchers on submarines or uploading    
submarine-launched ballistic missiles   
with additional warheads to compensate  
for a reduced deployment of             

intercontinental ballistic missiles of  
the ,united ,states4  7d7  ,report      
required  7#a7  ,submission to          
,department of ,defense  ,not later than
 #ahj days after the date of the        
enactment of this ,act1 the ,national   
,academy of ,sciences shall submit to   
the ,secretary of ,defense a report     
containing the results of the study     
conducted under subsection 7a74  7#b7   
,submission to ,congress  ,not later    
than #baj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
shall transmit to the appropriate       
congressional committees the report     
required by paragraph 7#a71 without     
change4  7#c7  ,form  ,the report       
required by paragraph 7#a7 shall be     
submitted in unclassified form1 but may 
include a classified annex4  7#d7       
,appropriate congressional committees   
defined  ,in this subsection1 the term  
appropriate congressional committees    
means--  7,a7 the ,committee on ,armed  
,services1 the ,committee on ,foreign   

,relations1 and the ,committee on       
,appropriations of the ,senate2 and     
7,b7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1
 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1   
and the ,committee on ,appropriations of
 the ,house of ,representatives4