S.Amdt. 2972

SA 2972. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 2910 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 5895,
making appropriations for energy and water development and related
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title III of division A, insert the
following:
Sec. 305. (a) Of the funds appropriated by this Act or
otherwise made available for fiscal year 2019 for the W76-2
warhead modification program, not more than 50 percent may be
obligated or expended until the date on which the Secretary
of Energy and the Secretary of Defense jointly submit to the
congressional defense committees a report--
(1) assessing the potential effects of the modification of
the W76-2 warhead and the development of a low-yield nuclear
warhead for submarine-launched ballistic missiles on
strategic stability;
(2) providing evidence for the conclusion in the 2018
Nuclear Posture Review that adversaries have a ``mistaken
perception of an exploitable `gap' '' in United States
regional deterrence capabilities; and
(3) assessing options--
(A) to reduce the risk of miscalculation associated with
adversaries being unable to distinguish between a submarine-
launched ballistic missile carrying a low-yield warhead and
such a missile carrying several high-yield warheads; and
(B) to preserve the survivability and the second-strike
capability of ballistic missile submarines without increasing
risk.
(b) The report described in subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex.
(c) In this section, the term ``congressional defense
committees'' has the meaning given that term in section
101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.
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