by Travis Sharp July 28, 2009 On July 22, 2009, the House Appropriations Committee completed its markup of the fiscal year (FY) 2010 Defense Appropriations bill (HR 3326). The Committee bill provides $636.6 billion in total funding, $3.8 billion less than the President’s request. Of the total, $508.4 billion is for the Department of Defense […]
Bargaining Chip or Gas Mask? Prospects for Missile Defense
by John Isaacs and Travis Sharp Published by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (July 2009) The symbolic age of American invulnerability came to an abrupt end in August 1949 when the Soviet Union announced that it had successfully tested the atomic bomb. For the first time in its history, the continental United States was […]
Factsheet on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT)
By Kingston Reif and Madeleine Foley PURPOSE OF FISSILE MATERIAL CUTOFF TREATY A fissile material cutoff treaty would ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes. Fissile materials, principally highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium, are the essential ingredients for building nuclear weapons and powering nuclear reactors. The effective control and elimination […]
Analysis of Senate Defense Authorization for FY 2010 (S. 1390)
by Christopher Hellman July 13, 2009 HIGHLIGHTS OF SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE ACTION ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL (S. 1390) The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) completed its markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Defense Authorization bill (S. 1390) on June 25, 2009. SASC’s marked up bill recommends an overall FY’10 […]
Decrease Stockpiles, Increase Security
by Robert G. Gard and Travis Sharp Published on The Huffington Post on July 6, 2009 This week in Moscow, Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev are holding a summit meeting that will heavily influence the next decade of U.S.-Russian relations. If the two leaders strike up a personal and political rapport, it could unfreeze a […]