A Christmas Present for Thanksgiving

Throughout its first term, while calling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction the #1 security threat to the United States, the Bush administration has pushed hard to develop new and modified nuclear weapons, causing many in the international community to question US commitment to nonproliferation and giving dangerous regimes the political cover to advance their own nuclear programs. This year, the administration requested funding for a number of initiatives:

• the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (a "bunker buster" weapon)
• Advanced Concepts (R&D on new or modified weapons designs)
• a Modern Pit Facility (to churn out, in Sorcerer's Apprentice fashion, thousands of new plutonium "pits" for nuclear weapons)
• and Enhanced Test Readiness (to shorten the time needed to prepare for a nuclear test, if ordered).

Not that these requests are out of line for this administration, which over the last four years has formulated and put in place a number of dangerous precedents that keep the saliency of US nuclear weapons high:

• the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review
• the refusal to consider ratification of the CTBT
• an emphasis on counterproliferation rather than disarmament
• a preference for non-destructive and reversible agreements such as the Moscow Treaty
• a widening of nuclear doctrine to consider nuclear strikes against non-nuclear targets
  

However, an interesting thing happened on the way to the bomb factory. Congress zeroed out all funding for new nukes. Let me say that again: the Republican-controlled Congress acted and chose to refuse to fund the Bush administration's requests for new nuclear weapons work. It's an astonishing act of independence and sanity.

By rebuking the Bush funding requests, Congress sends a clear message that nonproliferation, not a new arms race, is the path toward greater security. In all likelihood, President Bush will renew his funding requests next year, as the Bush administration does not easily admit its mistakes. But even a Republican-controlled Congress swears no loyalty oath to President Bush
or his funding requests. And on the eve of Thanksgiving here in the United States, that, along with these spending cuts, is something to be thankful for.

Here are the figures, for those of you keeping score:

Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator
Administration request: $27.6 million
Congressional funding: $0

Advanced Concepts
Admin request: $9 million
Congressional funding: $0
(shifted to "Reliable Replacement Warhead" program, a "program to improve the reliability, longevity and certifiability of existing weapons and their components.")

Modern Pit Facility
Admin request: $29 million
Congressional funding: $7 million
(and the Department of Energy was barred from using any funds to select a new construction site)

Enhanced test readiness
Admin request: $30 million
Congressional funding: $0