U.S. House committee rejects low-yield nukes in defense bill

June 13 (UPI) -- The House Armed Services Committee rejected two Republican amendments to the defense appropriations bill for additional funding and deployment of low-yield nuclear warheads.

After a heated debate during markup of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, the committee voted to reject the amendments in two 30-26 votes. Democrats hold a 31-26 majority on the panel.

The marathon hearing ended about 7 a.m. Thursday as the $733 billion defense policy bill was approved and is headed to the full House. The committee voted 33-24 to approve the NDAA, with Republicans Elise Stefanik of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska siding with Democrats in support of the bill.

The two amendments introduced by Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., would have removed a ban on deploying the W76-2 low-yield nuclear warhead above Trident II-D5 missiles aboard Ohio-class submarines and restore about $19.6 million in funding.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/06/13/US-House-committee-rejects-low-yield-nukes-in-defense-bill/4191560433514/