U.S. Bill Boosts Warhead Spending by Nearly $1 Billion
Rachel Oswald
January 14, 2014
A new U.S. Congress omnibus spending bill would increase funding to the Energy Department’s nuclear-weapons efforts by close to $1 billion for fiscal 2014.
Legislation released on Monday jointly by the Senate and House appropriations committees would provide $7.8 billion for National Nuclear Security Administration work on the nuclear arsenal — an $874 million increase over fiscal 2013 post-sequester enacted levels, according to a bill summary.
The “big increase” in fiscal 2014 spending showed that the decrease in program funding last year was only temporary and the “NNSA weapons budget is back on the rise,” Kingston Reif, who analyzes national strategic defense spending for the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, said in an e-mail.
At the same time, “Congress once again proved unwilling to fund NNSA weapons activities at the funding level projected for 2014 as part of the 2010 modernization plan worked out in conjunction with the New START treaty,” Reif said.
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