US Lawmakers Introduce LYNE Bill To Ban Low-Yield Nuclear Warheads

US Lawmakers Introduce LYNE Bill to Ban Low-Yield Nuclear Warheads

A group of Democrats from both chambers of US Congress introduced a bill banning low-yield nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles launched from submarines, US Congressman Adam Smith's press office announced in a release on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th September, 2018) A group of Democrats from both chambers of US Congress introduced a bill banning low-yield nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles launched from submarines, US Congressman Adam Smith's press office announced in a release on Tuesday.

The legislation, named Hold the Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive (LYNE), would "prohibit the research, develop, production and deployment of a low-yield nuclear warheads for submarine-launched ballistic missiles," the release said.

The release explained that the warheads in question have the potential to "lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons and increase the risk of entering the United States into nuclear war."

Smith urged not funding President Donald Trump's request for building new low-yield nuclear weapons.

The congressman accused Trump of increasing the likelihood for a new nuclear arms race by using such warheads as well as miscalculation, which would otherwise be used to satisfy specific military needs.

"We already have a nuclear deterrent that is more than adequate to achieve our national security goals. Funding new, low-yield weapons would only draw us further into an unnecessary nuclear arms race and increase the risks of miscalculation," Smith said.

The new legislation has been endorsed by dozens of non-governmental organizations, including the Arms Control Association, Global Zero and the Union of Concerned Scientists.