Nunn Warns Against Cuts to Nuclear Threat Reduction

In a new op-ed published in The Hill, Senator Sam Nunn celebrates the progress made by the Global Threat Reduction Initiative over 10 years–but warns against budget cuts to these vital programs. He writes: 

 

"There will be a large price to be paid in diminished U.S. and global security if cooperation in this area slows down or comes to a halt. Yet, funding for these critical programs has declined rapidly, with the Administration’s FY15 budget request proposing an approximate 25 percent reduction. In fact, this would be the third year in a row that these critical nonproliferation programs have been cut. We must view our nuclear and radiological threat reduction efforts as a core component of our national security strategy and not as a contingency fund for financing other security programs.

 

Surely, preventing nuclear terrorism should be at the top of our list of national security and budgetary priorities.

 

The threat of nuclear terrorism is real. The need to work urgently—and in a smart way—is real."

 

Read the complete op-ed here.