In March the Department of Energy released its FY20 budget request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is responsible for developing, producing and maintaining US nuclear warheads and bombs. Read more >
NNSA’s FY20 Budget Request: Full Speed Ahead on Weapons Development and Production
Eryn MacDonald, analyst
May 6, 2019 11:31 AM EDT
Donald Trump: Serious about Arms Control?
David Wright, co-director and senior scientist
April 29, 2019 10:02 AM EDT
President Trump seems to understand a major lesson of the past 70 years of the nuclear age: Unconstrained arms races are dangerous and massively expensive.
The Washington Post reports that Trump “has ordered his administration to prepare a push for new arms-control agreements with Russia and China after bristling at the cost of a 21st-century nuclear arms race.” If one country builds more weapons to feel secure, this can cause other countries to feel less secure and lead them to build more weapons in response. This cycle is the classic arms race. Read more >
Opposition to Trump’s New Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead
Stephen Young, Washington representative and senior analyst
August 2, 2018 2:43 PM EDT
And the “consensus” on rebuilding the US nuclear stockpile
The Trump administration’s program to deploy a new, low-yield variant of the W76 warhead carried by U.S. submarine-launched ballistic missiles has faced relatively strong opposition in Congress, with almost all Democrats and several Republicans supporting legislation to eliminate or curb the program. Read more >
Update on the Low-Yield Trident Warhead: Time for the Senate to Step Up
Eryn MacDonald, analyst
June 5, 2018 5:23 PM EDT
A couple of weeks ago, we noted that the Senate Armed Services Committee was about to get its chance to consider the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which in its current form includes $88 million in funding for a new, lower-yield warhead for the Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), designated the W76-2. At the time, the House Armed Services Committee had voted, along party lines, to reject an amendment that would have eliminated funding for the new warhead. Read more >
The FY2019 National Nuclear Security Administration Budget: Weapons Are Winners
Eryn MacDonald, analyst
May 31, 2018 6:00 AM EDT
In late February the Department of Energy (DOE) released its FY2019 budget request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and in late March Congress passed its final FY2018 appropriations bill, so we now have more information about the agency’s plans for the next several years. To no one’s surprise, both the administration and Congress increased funding for the NNSA and, in particular, for its nuclear weapons work. Read more >
