Are nuclear weapons expensive? Should they be exempt from sequestration? According to the Pentagon, the answers to these questions are “No” and “Yes”.
Blown Opportunity: The Folly of Exempting Nuclear Weapons from Sequestration
by Kingston Reif While there is widespread agreement that sequestration is not a wise way to manage reductions in military spending, it is the law of the land. Unless Congress changes the legislation, the Pentagon will be forced to find $500 billion in spending reductions over the next decade beyond what is has already planned. […]
Senate Defense Appropriators Slash DoD Request for Budget Busting B61 Bomb
The proposed life extension program for the B61 nuclear gravity bomb – the most expensive warhead refurbishment in history – is in trouble. Big trouble.
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Responses to Strategic Choices and Management Review
“The completion of the Strategic Choices Management Review by the Pentagon is a positive sign that the Department is taking seriously the reality of sequestration,” said Laicie Heeley, Director of Defense Policy at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. “The Secretary and Vice Chairman have spelled out future options showing that smart and strategic reductions in Pentagon spending can, in fact, enhance national security.”
House floor action on the FY 2014 Defense Appropriations bill
The House of Representatives yesterday approved the FY 2014 Defense Appropriations bill (H.R. 2397) by a vote of 315-109. The big headliner was the debate and vote on an amendment to the bill offered by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) to curtail the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities. The amendment failed 205-217 in an extremely close vote that saw both parties split almost evenly and hold an unusually excellent debate.
