On Tuesday, May 23, the Trump administration released its Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018) budget request. In an overall federal budget where many, many programs faced severe budget cuts, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is on the receiving end of a proposed 11 percent budget increase (at least by the Trump administration’s accounting – more on that in a following post). Read more >
Stephen's Latest Posts

New START is a Winner
March 16, 2017 3:04 PM EDT
U.S. military leaders continue to strongly support New START, the arms control treaty between the United States and Russia that limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed, long-range nuclear weapons by 2018.
The problem is that President Donald Trump is apparently unwilling to listen to their sage advice. Read more >
Another knock against MOX
October 3, 2016 5:55 PM EDT
The MOX program has been staggering along for years, struggling for survival. Today’s news, that Russia is suspending the joint U.S.-Russian agreement to dispose of excess plutonium, should be the final blow that finishes this risky boondoggle off. It removes the sole remaining justification for the program, which was that only if the United States pursued MOX would Russia dispose of its plutonium. Read more >

25 Years Ago Today a President Changed Nuclear Policy Forever. Will This One?
September 27, 2016 12:02 PM EDT
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the start of the most remarkable and rapid changes ever made in U.S. and Soviet/Russian nuclear posture and policy. Read more >

Obama @ the UN: Nuclear Options
September 19, 2016 2:35 PM EDT
Tomorrow, Barack Obama will deliver his last address to the United Nations as president. What will he say? What should he say?
He is likely to touch on a range of global issues, including climate change. I hope he will find some time to focus on security issues, in particular nuclear weapons.