Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/4618

 12 2 STA T .459 5 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 41 7—O CT. 14 , 200 8sectionby not la te r t h an Ap ril 1 an dO ctober 1 o f each year , and shall s u b m it the first report re q uired under this section by not later than April 1, 20 0 9.( e )TERMINAT I O N. — The requirement to submit semi - annual reports under this section shall terminate on the date that is one year after the date on w hich the S ecretary of D efense completes the full transition of the pro v ision of services from the N avy M arine C orps I ntranet pro g ram and other transition programs to the Ne x t G eneration E nterprise Networ k s program. SEC.1035 . SE N SE OF CON GR ESSONN U C L E A R W EA P ONS M ANAGE - MEN T . (a) F IN D IN GS .—Congress makes the following findings

(1) The unauthori z ed transfer of nuclear weapons from Minot Air Force B ase, North Dakota, to Barksdale Air Force Base, L ouisiana, in August 200 7 was an extraordinary breach of the command and control and security of nuclear weapons. (2) The reviews conducted following that unauthorized transfer found that the ability of the Department of Defense to provide oversight of nuclear weapons matters had degen- erated and that senior level attention to nuclear weapons management is minimal at best. ( 3 ) The lack of attention to nuclear weapons and related equipment by the Department of Defense was demonstrated again when it was discovered in March 200 8 that classified equipment from Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic mis- siles was inadvertently shipped to Taiwan in 200 6 . ( 4 ) The Department of Defense has insufficient capability and staffing in the Office of the U nder Secretary of Defense for P olicy to provide the necessary oversight of the nuclear weapons functions of the Department. ( 5 ) The key senior position responsible for nuclear weapons matters in the Department of Defense, the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, a position filled by appointment by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, was vacant for more than 18 months before being filled in J uly 2008. (6) The inability to provide consistent senior level emphasis on nuclear weapons policy has contributed to an erosion in the level of attention paid to nuclear weapons matters across the Department of Defense. (b) SENSE O F CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the United States should maintain clear and unambig- uous command and control of its nuclear weapons (2) the safety and security of nuclear weapons and related equipment should be a high priority as long as the United States maintains a stockpile of nuclear weapons; (3) these ob j ectives will be more successfully attained if greater attention is paid to nuclear weapons matters within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics; (4) the Secretary of Defense should consider establishing and filling a senior position, at the level of Assistant Secretary of Defense or Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy to hold

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