Congress Zeroes Funding for New U.S. Warhead

U.S. lawmakers agreed to provide no funding for a Bush administration program to develop a new nuclear warhead, the Washington Post reported today.  The refusal was part of an agreed omnibus funding bill that could be formally approved by both congressional houses this week (see GSN, Nov. 9).

The budget zeroes out funds for the Reliable Replacement Warhead, which U.S. officials have argued is needed to ensure the viability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without conducting underground nuclear testing, the Post reported.

The funding bill instead orders the Defense and Energy departments to prepare a formal assessment of U.S. nuclear needs and strategies.

“Moving forward on a new nuclear weapon is not something this nation should do without great consideration," said Representative Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles funding of the nuclear weapons program.  “The U.S. needs a comprehensive nuclear defense strategy, and a revised stockpile plan to guide the transformation and downsizing of the complex … to reflect the new realities of the world.”

An Energy Department spokesman criticized the lawmakers’ decision.

“We will likely have to go down a path of a full-life extension program for nuclear weapons in our stockpile, which in the long run will be more costly, without introducing modern safety and security measures into our weapons,” the spokesman said (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, Dec. 18).

The warhead-funding decision was made as part of a larger congressional negotiation involving U.S. nuclear facilities, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

Lawmakers agreed to restore roughly $418 million of the almost $600 million that had been stripped from weapons programs at the Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories (see GSN, Sept. 26).

“This budget isn't by any means a bed of roses for the labs," said Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.).  "We have what amounts to a good news-bad news budget that is vastly preferable to the potentially devastating cuts that could have occurred.”

Los Alamos has already stated plans to reduce 500 to 750 jobs, many through voluntary buyouts (Associated Press/Las Cruces Sun-News, Dec. 17).

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