Congress and Nuclear Weapons

In Congress and Nuclear Weapons, James Lindsay traces the rise of congressional interest in nuclear weapons policy since the 1960s. Combining analyses of committee and floor behavior with case studies of four important nuclear weapons programs—the Trident submarine and the MX, Pershing II, and ASAT missiles—Lindsay finds that Congress’s influence over nuclear weapons policy has increased dramatically. His analysis challenges the conventional wisdom that Congress hurts the national interest when it intervenes in defense policy. He argues that Congress has the obligation to help shape defense policy—and that, in a world transformed by new political and military realities, members of Congress now face historic decisions about the future of U.S. defense policy.