WASHINGTON – House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Ranking Member Michael Turner (R-Ohio) and HASC Ranking Member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) led HASC Republicans in a letter to President Joe Biden urging the Administration to support modernization of the U.S. nuclear deterrent and homeland missile defense in the FY22 budget.
Specifically, they request the Administration to:
- Fully fund the nation’s nuclear modernization program that the Future Years Defense Program and Future Years National Nuclear Security Program laid out for the 2021-25 budget requests; and
- Make key investments to transition from the Ground Based Interceptor to field the Next Generation Interceptor.
In the letter, they write:
“The U.S. nuclear triad is the bedrock of our national defense and our allies and partners rely on our nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and order. It would be a fatal and strategic mistake for us to lose or degrade that capability.”
[…]
“While we have been reducing or barely sustaining our nuclear capabilities, our adversaries have been increasing their nuclear weapons numbers and advancing their capabilities and strategies for deployment at an alarming pace.”
[…]
“We are at a critical juncture to ensure that DoD and NNSA nuclear programs are maintained and executed on time. Our nation’s security and the security of our allies and partners depend on it.”
Rogers and Turner are joined by Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), Michael Gallagher (R-Wis.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Mike Johnson (R-La.), Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Blake Moore (R-Utah) and Scott Franklin (R-Fla.).
The full letter to President Biden can be found here.
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