1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Nuclear Cruise Missile Reconsideration Act of 2017 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The United States is currently developing a new nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile, the long-range standoff weapon. (2) When asked by the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate before his confirmation hearing about his support for the long-range standoff weapon, Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis stated, I will carefully examine the utility and advisability of this program within existing nuclear doctrine. . (3) When asked during his confirmation hearing whether he would commit to support continued development of the long-range standoff weapon, Secretary Mattis emphasized the need to examine its deterrent capability . (4) The United States already plans to construct a new fleet of nuclear-capable penetrating long-range strike bombers, known as the B–21, that will carry the refurbished B61 nuclear gravity bomb. (5) The range and lethality of existing United States strategic bombers is being improved by the addition of the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile, a long-range conventionally armed air-launched cruise missile. The B–21 bomber will also be armed with this missile. (6) According to public reports, the long-range standoff weapon will be a far more precise version of its predecessor. (7) General James E. Cartwright, former head of United States Strategic Command, warned in 2016 that bring[ing] real precision to [nuclear] weapons could make them more usable . (8) In a 2014 letter to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, Under Secretary of Defense Frank Kendall explained that the long-range standoff weapon could have utility [b]eyond deterrence . (9) In a 2016 statement before the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Scher asserted that the long-range standoff weapon would provide the United States with the ability to respond