Dems block GOP attempt to strip nuke provisions from subcommittee bill

摘要

Republicans on the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee failed to strip controversial nuclear weapons provisions from the panel's fiscal year 2020 defense policy bill today, as the Democratic majority voted the legislation through to the full committee. Through an amendment offered by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Republicans attempted to remove a provision from the subcommittee's bill that would prohibit funding for the deployment of a low-yield nuclear ballistic warhead on submarines, as well as a provision repealing the requirement for the National Nuclear Security Administration to produce plutonium pits at a rate of 80 per year for 90 days in 2027. The amendment also would have stripped a provision fencing funds for any Defense Department effort to abandon the Open Skies treaty without Russia being in material breach and without coordination with allies, as well as a provision requiring notifications and documents related to Nuclear Weapons Council meetings.