Topline Funding Senate approved House approved Total funding $750.0 billion $733.0 billion Overseas Contingency Operations funding $75.9 billion $69.0 billion (Note: $738 billion is the new total in the Pelosi-Mnuchin budget agreement) Nuclear and Related Weapons Programs and Treaties LOW-YIELD NUCLEAR WARHEAD FOR SUBMARINES House: Prohibits funds for the deployment of W76-2 low-yield warhead […]
Space Wars: Do we really need to be militarizing space?
By Bryce Farabaugh, Policy Intern The militarization of space has been a controversial subject for decades, so it was more than a little surprising when, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee July 16, Defense Secretary nominee and current Secretary of the Army Mark Esper stated his belief that the United States […]
The Day That Changed the World Forever
By Abby Pokraka, Program Assistant On July 16, 1945, scientists conducted the Trinity Test. The world would never be the same. That test ushered in a new era dominated by the most immensely destructive weapons ever created. It led to a Cold War which saw, at its peak, more than 70,000 nuclear weapons on the […]
There is no such thing as a small nuclear war
By Deverrick Holmes, Policy Intern This week, as Congress considers the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Members will vote on whether the United States needs a new small or “low-yield” nuclear weapon. The specific policy that was hotly contested by Members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), and eventually defeated, provided funding for the […]
Presidents Who Championed Deals to Reduce the Threat of Nuclear Weapons
No President has had a perfect record when it comes to reducing nuclear threats, but every President since Kennedy has championed a deal to do so. There is still time for President Trump to do the same!
