House Committee Backs Bush Nuclear Weapons Funding

By David Ruppe
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee yesterday joined its Senate counterpart in approving the Bush administration’s nuclear weapons research and development and test readiness initiatives for fiscal 2005, while also cutting some missile defense funding (see GSN, May 12).

Money to aid in securing and destroying weapons of mass destruction and associated materials in the former Soviet states was also approved in full as the committee unanimously sent the $422 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 2005 to the full House of Representatives.

The Republican-controlled panel, over Democratic objections, voted for full $36.6 million funding of the Energy Department Advanced Concepts Initiative, including $27.6 million for studying the feasibility of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP). The administration is looking at upgrading existing warheads for increased reliability at striking deeply buried, hardened facilities, after the weapon slams into the earth.

The committee also approved $30 million requested to reduce the preparation time to 18 months for conducting a nuclear test.

The approved funding levels showed the committee “strongly reaffirms the importance of” the Advanced Concepts and RNEP initiatives, according to a lengthy summary of the bill released yesterday by committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.).

Outnumbered Democrats opposed the administration’s nuclear weapons priorities, though with little success (see GSN, May 7).

Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) unsuccessfully sought an amendment to transfer the Advanced Concepts Initiative funding toward pursuit of conventional bunker-buster weaponry and improving intelligence.

She said in a press release that the administration is seeking “new uses for existing nuclear weapons and to design new nuclear weapons ð— weapons that the Pentagon hasn’t even asked for.” 

Similar to the Senate committee, the House Armed Services committee cut overall funding for missile defense, approving $9 billion of a requested $10.2 billion.

It notably cut $56 million off the administration’s $536 million request for sensor development and, like the Senate committee, eliminated $75 million for early development of a new kill vehicle in the Kinetic Energy Interceptor program.

It added $130 million for Army missile defense activities, which includes buying an additional 36 Patriot missiles.

The committee’s funding levels emphasized focus on “near-term missile defense capability development and testing,” the summary said.

The administration has requested a $1.2 billion increase for missile defense over the fiscal 2004 funding levels, mainly to support the fielding of land- and sea-based interceptor systems and associated equipment by the end of 2005. The committee did not appear to cut funding for those efforts.

The House and Senate versions of the bill are scheduled for possible debates and amendments, and votes next week.

The committee also fully approved the Defense Department’s $409.2 million request for its Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which largely aims to secure and eliminate former Soviet nuclear, chemical and biological weapons capabilities.

While Hunter has been an outspoken critic of the program, the summary praised the Pentagon for “positive steps” to oversee the effort.

However, it noted “reasons for concern” about Russia’s commitment to the program’s goals, citing:

*         Continued Russian strategic force modernization, including several new intercontinental ballistic missiles (see GSN, March 1);

*         Questions about the completeness and accuracy of Russia’s declarations regarding its chemical weapons stockpile; and

*         Russia’s lack of a credible plan to destroy its nerve stockpile agent.

The committee also approved an additional $1.3 million to expand an effort by the nongovernmental Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control to help governments improve their export control mechanisms.

The committee expressed concern about the administration’s budget for U.S. chemical weapons destruction, which it said was $166.2 million less than requested for fiscal 2004.

“The committee is concerned that the administration’s budget request … could undermine continued progress in this area,” it said.

It did not increase that funding, but rather approved the request in full at $1.372 billion and requested reporting on facility plans and budget requirements.

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