House Panel Boosts Nonproliferation Funding by $150M

The U.S. House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday approved a fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill that includes more than $2 billion to prevent the global proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Jan. 5).

“The committee fully supports the goals of the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration’s nonproliferation programs and the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction program and emphasizes that these programs are critical to U.S. national security and must be a top priority,” the panel said.

“The committee is concerned that lack of effective policy guidance and leadership, and program and funding constraints, have limited progress of U.S. nonproliferation and threat reduction programs in recent years,” it added.  “The committee believes there must be a strong national commitment to reinvigorate these programs.  The committee authorizes additional funding and concrete measures that will expand and strengthen nonproliferation and threat reduction efforts around the world.”

Lawmakers voted unanimously in favor of the bill, which authorizes spending nearly $1.82 billion on NNSA nonproliferation programs in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.  That amount is $150 million higher than requested by the Bush administration.

Funding authorized for the agency in the bill includes:

—      $280.2 million, a $15 million hike from the NNSA request, for development of WMD proliferation detection and nuclear explosion monitoring technology under the Nonproliferation Research and Development program;

—      $147.9 million, a $23 million increase, for expansion of the Proliferation Security Initiative (see GSN, March 16) and other WMD interdiction programs under the Nonproliferation and International Security program;

—      $401.8 million, which includes an additional $30 million, for International Materials Protection and Cooperation programs, including securing Russian nuclear material and installing radiation detection technology at ports overseas;

—      $196.6 million, an increase of $77 million, for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, including efforts to eliminate highly enriched uranium that could be used in nuclear weapons and to prepare teams to secure and remove WMD material;

—      $609.5 million for the U.S. Surplus Fissile Materials Disposition program, including $333.8 million for construction of the planned U.S. MOX facility that would convert weapon-grade plutonium into proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel (see GSN, April 16); and

—      $399.7 million, a $5 million rise, “to expand and strengthen staff capacity, capabilities and resources that NNSA needs to effectively implement nonproliferation programs.”

The committee also authorized a $50 million above the administration spending target for Defense Department Cooperative Threat Reduction programs.  That would bring the total to $398 million to secure and eliminate WMD material in former Soviet states.

The panel directed $42.7 million toward completion of the Shchuchye chemical weapons disposal facility in Russia (see GSN, March 1).  The United States has directed more than $1 billion toward the project, which has been stalled by disputes over construction bids submitted by Russian subcontractors and other problems.

“The committee is strongly concerned that the project is incomplete, and yet the DOD has requested no additional funding in fiscal year 2008,” the panel said.  “The committee is also concerned that DOD’s current budget and strategy for the project do not reflect the U.S. commitment to CTR efforts.”

Lawmakers also set aside $7 million for the Pentagon to use to develop a plan for new CTR initiatives, including programs in Asia and the Middle East and related to the denuclearization of North Korea.  They also voted to remove restrictions on CTR funding for chemical weapons disposal in Russia and to eliminate the annual certification requirement for recipients of program funds, a committee spokeswoman said (see GSN, Feb. 14).

The bill must now pass through the House and Senate before going before the president for final approval (U.S. House Armed Services Committee release, May 9).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.