Senate’s Billion-Dollar Nuclear Weapons Provision Should Be Cut From Recovery Plan
Senate’s Billion-Dollar Nuclear Weapons Provision Should Be Cut From Recovery Plan
Our guest blogger is Andrew Grotto, a Senior National Security Analyst at the Center for American Progress.
Buried in the Senate version of the economic recovery plan — despite the “heroic” efforts of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and other centrists to “fr[y] the bacon” — is an allocation of $1 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for “weapons activities.” This provision, divorced as it is from any semblance of national security strategy, should be eliminated.
The Senate also added $5 billion to the Department of Energy budget for “defense environmental cleanup.” Environmental remediation is a legitimate component of the recovery and reinvestment plan, since it is labor intensive — though highly specialized in the case of nuclear-related remediation — and recommits the nation to responsible environmental stewardship.
But nuclear weapons activities is another matter. The Obama administration is in the early stages of a formal Nuclear Posture Review that will, as one of its outcomes, offer recommendations for the future of the nuclear weapons complex, including modernization as necessary. Funds allocated to NNSA before the review is completed are neither stimulative nor wise. That $1 billion ought to be cut before the bill reaches the President’s desk.
3 Responses to “Senate’s Billion-Dollar Nuclear Weapons Provision Should Be Cut From Recovery Plan”
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That $1 billion should be spend elsewhere, I agree.
I used to live 25 miles from the Titan silo shown in the photo, and not more than a couple of miles from some of the other decommissioned sites surrounding Tucson. The underground command shelters provided some interesting options for the new landowners.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:27 pmI certainly agree that the $1 billion buried in the stimulus package should be stripped as it has no reason for being there except to pay homage to weapons manufacturers who lobby the GOP constantly for more expenditures. Besides, nuclear proliferation is not only not needed to blow us all away, it is expressly prohibited by treaties we have signed with numerous countries and its prohibition signals others of our commitment by example to reject nuclear options for military use.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pmFunding affordable birth control would be a far safer way to reduce surplus population.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:55 pm