On March 2, the Bush administration announced the winner of a competition to design the nation's first new nuclear warhead in nearly two decades, what is called Complex 2030. The winner was the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
In June, the House of Representatives voted to eliminate all funding for the so-called reliable replacement warhead (RRW) and the plutonium pit center. Unfortunately, the Senate Appropriations Committee chose to provide $66 million to the RRW in FY 2008.
The program is not needed as Energy Department plutonium aging studies show that the US current stockpile of nearly 10,000 nuclear warheads is highly reliable, and has a lifetime of at least 85 years. Plutonium aging is no argument for the program, as the oldest warhead in the arsenal is less than 35 years old.
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) officials suggest that RRW warheads could incorporate new measures to avoid accidental or unauthorized detonation of nuclear warheads. However, current US nuclear warheads have been determined to be "safe." While new features to reduce the chance of unauthorized detonation could be incorporated into new or existing warheads, the most cost efficient and effective way to prevent unauthorized detonation would be to improve operational controls on the existing US stockpile.
It is also not clear whether RRW designs can be certified without testing. Strategic Commander General James Cartwright and Acting NNSA Director Tomas D'Agostino in their testimony before the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee did not rule out nuclear testing if doubts about the certifiability of an RRW design emerge. Such testing would scuttle efforts to have the United States and other nations sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban, and bring it into operation.
In going ahead with the RRW program, the United States would be failing to meet its obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This failure would make it more difficult to stop non-nuclear states from going nuclear, such as North Korea and Iran. In his testimony before the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, former Senator Sam Nunn said that "if Congress gives a green light to this [RRW] program in our current world environment, this will be: misunderstood by our allies; exploited by our adversaries; complicate our work to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons."
The cost of the replacement program would be huge -- over $150 billion by 2030, when the country is running heavy debts each year, and cannot meet national needs in health and education.
There is still an opportunity for the Senate to follow House lawmakers' lead in rejecting the RRW program. On August 1, Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced S. 1914 which would put the brakes on the Bush administration's irresponsible plan by eliminating all funding for the RRW program through FY 2010 and requiring the Administration to conduct in-depth reviews of U.S. nuclear policy and posture. We can help out here in Pennsylvania by urging our Senators to co-sponsor S. 1914, and prevent a whole new generation of nuclear weapons. Write our Senators, or better yet, make appointments to see them and urge them to back Senator Feinstein and end the President's plan to replace all our nuclear warheads.
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