The Smarter Approaches to Nuclear Expenditures Act aims to significantly reduce U.S. nuclear weapons spending and modernization programs. The bill imposes spending caps and prohibitions on various nuclear weapons systems starting in fiscal year 2026, including limiting nuclear-armed submarines to eight Columbia-class vessels, reducing deployed strategic warheads to 1,000, capping intercontinental ballistic missiles at 150, and banning development or deployment of low-yield nuclear warheads. It also prohibits funding for several modernization projects such as new air-launched cruise missiles, new intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched cruise missiles, and a uranium processing facility in Tennessee. The legislation addresses the Pentagon and Department of Energy, which collectively manage the nuclear arsenal projected to cost approximately $946 billion over the next decade. The bill requires the Secretaries of Defense and Energy to submit detailed implementation plans and cost-savings estimates to Congress, with annual reporting requirements beginning in 2026 to track compliance and savings achieved through these reductions.
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