Nukewatch Quarterly Spring 2021

Congressional plans for buying 400 new land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) have been slammed by such centrist groups as the Bloomberg News’ editorial board, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Arms Control Association, Defense News, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and former Secretary of Defense William Perry’s think tank. How does the program survive? An answer comes from the Center for International Policy’s Arms and Security Program’ February 9 report, “Inside the ICBM Lobby: Special Interests or the National Interest?” The report details the enormous sums spent by military contractors on lobbying and campaign contributions to influence senators from states that host ICBM bases or major ICBM development projects. Capitol Hill’s “ICBM Coalition”— from Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — are the beneficiaries that keep voting for a nuclear weapons program although, as report author William Hartung points out, there is “no militarily sound reason to build a new ICBM.” Among the report’s major findings:

● Northrop Grumman [which was awarded a $13.3 billion development contract Sept. 8, 2020] and its major subcontractors have given $1.2 million to the current members of the Senate ICBM Coalition since 2012, and over $15 million more to members of key Congressional committees that have a central role in determining how much is spent on ICBMs. 

● The top 11 contractors working on the new ICBM spent over $119 million on lobbying in 2019 and 2020 and employed 410 lobbyists.

— Center for International Policy, Arms and Security Program, March 9, 2021

Nukewatch Quarterly Spring 2021

Legislation to kill the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM) was unveiled March 4 by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland and Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut. If passed, the bill would prohibit research and development, production, and deployment of the new submarine-launched missile. The two said that the Obama White House decided that a similar weapon was redundant and had it retired. In a related matter, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., urged President Biden, March 2, to cancel the SLCM-N program, and asked the president to “pause further development” of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent — a planned $264 billion replacement for today’s 400 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. In their letter, Markey and Khanna also urged Biden to adopt a “no first-use” doctrine for nuclear weapons, reminding the president that “there is no such thing as a winnable nuclear war.” –Defense News, March 4, 2021