Nuclear Abolition
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Legislation

Schedual for Congress in 2008

Outcomes from '07

RRW
The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, chaired by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) marked up its portion of the defense authorization bill Wednesday May 7th. In it, they zeroed out the Reliable Replacement Warhead, rejecting the administration's DOE request of $10 million (to keep the project alive), and the Navy request of $23 million. This is a 180 degree change by Rep. Tauscher, who last year included (reduced) funding for RRW in her markup. Subcommittee Republicans are unhappy with the result and may offer an amendment to restore the RRW funds in the full committee markup next Wednesday, May 14.

The subcommittee also cut $50 million from the Pit Manufacturing program and the Pit Manufacturing Capability programs. The administration requested $145 million for the first program and $54 million for the second. It appears the subcommittee may have combined the two programs and reduced the total by 25 percent. I would call that a partial victory.

Complex Transformation
The Department of Energy's "Complex Transformation" proposal aims to overhaul the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. In the full working paper, the Union of Concerned Scientists assesses the DOE's plan and offers some policy recommendations.

This paper was submitted to the DOE as a comment on the Complex Transformation Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
In brief, we find that:

- The United States needs a new nuclear weapons policy, and a plan for the future of its nuclear arsenal, before it makes major decisions on the future of the complex.
- Under its current policy, the United States does not need to produce new plutonium pits--the essential core of nuclear warheads--until at least 2015 and perhaps not until 2022. A new nuclear policy could eliminate the need entirely.

- Until the nation decides on the make-up and size of its future nuclear arsenal, it is premature to build the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) Nuclear Facility and the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF), proposed plants that would play a role in producing new nuclear weapons.

- Once a new nuclear policy is set, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) should perform a comprehensive, bottom-up review of the complex, and maintain only those programs and facilities needed to support the future arsenal.
- Consolidating weapons-usable fissile material should be a higher priority for the NNSA.

- The DOE should examine other alternatives for the future of the complex, including options for no pit production, and for a future in which the United States spearheads a global effort to move toward the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

READ THE FULL REPORT

Highlights of Congressional Action in 2007 on National Security & Nuclear Weapons

Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) Program
Administration Request: $88.8 million for the Department of Energy; $30 million for the Department of Defense, for a total of $118.8 million
Final Action: $0 for the Department of Energy; $15 million for the Department of Defense

Reprocessing Nuclear Waste
Administration Request: $405 million
Final Action: $179 million (as part of Department of Energy Appropriations)

Total Funding for Nonproliferation Programs (including programs funded through the Defense Department, State Department, and Department of Energy)
Administration Request: 3.36 billion
Final Action: 3.683 billion

Notable Threat Reduction Programs Included Within the Above Totals
Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar Program)
Administration Request: $348 million
Final Action: $428 million

Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI)
Administration Request: $115.5 million
Final Action: $195 million (as part of Department of Energy appropriations)

International Nuclear Material Protection & Cooperation
Administration Request: $371 million
Final Action: $603.2 million (as part of Department of Energy appropriations)

Space Test Bed (i.e. space-based missile defense)
Administration Request: $10 million
Final Action: $0

Missile Defense Programs
Administration Request: $10.3 billion (includes missile defense, research and development, and procurement)
Final Action: $9.9 billion ($85 million was ultimately cut from the $310 million requested to begin deployment of anti-missile interceptors in Poland and an associated radar in the
Czech Republic)

Conventional Trident Modification Program (to equip Trident II submarine-launched long-range missiles with non-nuclear warheads)
Administration Request: $175 million
Final Action: $0 ($100 million was appropriated solely for alternatives to the

Conventional Trident Modification Program)
Democracy Promotion in Iran (i.e. regime change slush fund)
Administration Request: $108.71 million
Final Action: $60 million (as part of Foreign Operations Appropriations)

Total Defense Spending (excluding the conduct of ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan)
Administration Request: $452.2 billion
Final Action: $448.7 billion