Deterring a strategic attack on the United States is the Defense Department’s—and the President’s—top priority. There is no greater mission, and the nuclear arsenal is the country’s most effective means of deterrence. It will likely cost tens of billions of dollars to put these recommendations outlined in this Issue Brief into action. While some Department of Defense and Department of Energy dollars can be reallocated to the strategic deterrent mission, that will not be enough. Congress needs to increase defense spending for the deterrent, and this increase will have to be offset by reductions in non-essential spending. The costs of deterrence failure are incalculably greater, and the longer the nation waits, the more acute the danger becomes.