Sleight of Hand in the Nuclear Budget

July 10, 2014 | Edited by Lauren Mladenka and Geoff Wilson

Budgetary malfeasance - “There's something fishy about the U.S. Navy wanting to create a new fund to pay for nuclear submarines -- so it can also pay for other ships,” writes Gordon Adams for Foreign Policy. As defense budget caps tighten, the Navy wants to make some other part of the Pentagon pay for its new, $100 billion nuclear-armed sub fleet.

--“Congress looks willing to acquiesce; the House and Senate defense authorization bills each include a ‘national sea-based deterrence fund.’ Presumably, all the money appropriated in a given year for the new submarine would be put in this fund and the program would no longer compete with other Navy ships for funding… It is all creative accounting. And nobody has yet fessed up as to how this asset would actually be paid for,” writes Adams.

--”It doesn't make sense...The Navy has bought boomers through its own shipbuilding budget ever since Adm. Hyman Rickover shoved them down the service's throat in the 1950s. But Rickover is dead and the Navy wants out, hoping to protect the funding for the programs that are at the core of the Navy's mission -- carriers, destroyers, and cruisers.”

--Adams looks at the budget trickery behind the proposed nuclear sub slush fund, the $60 billion war slush fund and the State Department’s proposed counterterrorism slush fund. “However you slice it, it's budgetary malpractice. Instead of setting priorities and making hard choices...they're going after the magic money.” Full story here. http://atfp.co/1qZue5E

Stealthy budgeting - “While the Air Force is expected to soon issue a request for proposals for its long-range strike bomber, a July 2 Congressional Research Service report made public Tuesday suggests that the service has already developed the aircraft through its classified budget,” writes Bob Brewin for Defense One.

--“The projected Air Force budget for the Long Range Strike Bomber jumps more than tenfold, from $258.7 million in 2013 to $3.5 billion in 2019, indicating the program may already be headed for production.” Full story here. http://bit.ly/W0xrVM

Responsibilities adrift - “Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told naval submariners on Wednesday that the U.S. has let its focus on the military's nuclear responsibilities drift a bit, but two reviews are wrapping up and he will be looking at recommendations to strengthen the health of the force.”

--“Hagel has ordered two reviews of the nation's nuclear operations, to find the causes of leadership lapses and other problems revealed by a series of Associated Press reports, including security gaps, cheating and other systemic breaches within the force.” Read the full piece by Lolita Baldor for AP. http://abcn.ws/1oGdhIr

Sensible cut - “It is time we take a smarter approach to our nuclear weapons strategy,” said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) in a speech on the House floor. “I rise today to offer a reasonable amendment that ensures that taxpayer dollars are not wasted on a weapon that the Pentagon is not even sure we will have the capability to use. My amendment simply cuts the extra $7.6 million above what the NNSA has requested for the next generation long-range cruise missile's nuclear warhead.”

--“At a time when we have so many other important projects at both the Pentagon and at the NNSA, the dollars and manpower spent on refurbishing this warhead for a cruise missile that does not yet exist are dollars and manpower the Pentagon and the NNSA could be using on bombers, subs, or even soldiers.” Watch the full speech on C-SPAN. http://cs.pn/1k9Ay2O

Mox in a veto threat - “The White House threatened Wednesday to veto a House spending bill, partially because it includes funding to continue construction on the mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility at Savannah River Site,” writes Meg Mirshak in The Augusta Chronicle. “The Obama administration opposed House passage of the Energy and Water appropriations bill that funds the U.S. Department of Energy, saying it prevents cheaper alternatives for plutonium disposition.”

--“The president reiterated his plans to place the MOX facility on standby in fiscal year 2015 while analyzing alternatives.” Full article here. http://bit.ly/1mNya7D

Crunch time on Iran talks - “Foreign ministers from the six-power group negotiating a final nuclear agreement with Iran will step into talks in Vienna this week in an effort to break a stalemate and salvage a deal by a July 20 deadline,” writes Laurence Norman in The Wall Street Journal. “While no official plans have been announced, three diplomats said foreign ministers could arrive in Vienna as early as Friday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is currently in Asia, could come to Vienna over the weekend, two officials said.” Full story here. http://on.wsj.com/1jgvv5M

Lost material - “Insurgents in Iraq have seized nuclear materials used for scientific research at a university in the country's north, Iraq told the United Nations in a letter appealing for help to ‘stave off the threat of their use by terrorists in Iraq or abroad.’ Nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of uranium compounds were kept at Mosul University, Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the July 8 letter.” Read the full report from Michelle Nichols for Reuters here. http://reut.rs/U5lUD8

Not a big risk - Regarding the nuclear material theft in Iraq, an IAEA spokesperson said that the organization assessed the material to be “low-grade and would not present a significant safety, security or nuclear proliferation risk.” Read the full report from Alan Cowell for The New York Times here. http://nyti.ms/1zrApl6

Good timing - “The Republic of Iraq deposited its instrument of accession to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano at the Agency's headquarters on 7 July 2014.” Full report from the IAEA here. http://bit.ly/1xXZVNa

Tweet - @BulletinAtomic: Most people would agree that keeping track of dangerous material is generally a good idea. ow.ly/yUMsW

Hanford worker safety - “About 12,000 air samples taken on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation this year after more than three dozen workers reported being sickened by chemical vapors have failed to find a cause for the problem, Hanford officials said Wednesday… ‘Our workers are not exposed to vapors, but they are having symptoms,’ said Tom Fletcher of the U.S. Department of Energy, which manages Hanford. ‘The question is: ‘Why?’’”

--“Hanford officials are hoping an investigation being conducted by the Savannah River National Laboratory might shed light on what is causing the illnesses. A draft of that report is due by October. Hanford for more than four decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons, and it now contains the nation’s greatest volume of nuclear waste. Much of the waste is stored in 177 giant underground storage tanks. It is workers at those tanks who are reporting smelling chemical vapors and then falling ill.” Full story from Nicholas Geranios for the AP here. http://bit.ly/1nhEAuE

Cautionary tale - “NNSA Projects: Underestimating & Overspending” infographic by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability available here. http://bit.ly/1n8mWVt

Tweet - @Livableworld: "If we want a more livable world, we’re going to have to invest in it," says new Executive Director @CitizenA http://t.co/PJK0x0K4sp

Quick-hits:

--“Hagel: Navy Nuclear Reviews Are Done, Reviewing Recommendations” by Marcus Weisgerber in Defense News. http://bit.ly/1rXEBXR

--“At 27,000 Feet, an Air Force Plea to Preserve Its Bombers” by Helene Cooper for The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/U5nll4

--“Why the U.S. should keep talking with Iran” by Zachary Keck for CNN. http://cnn.it/1rXTIjW

Events:

--“Deal or No Deal: Negotiating to Stop Iran’s Nuclear Program.” Discussion with Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione. July 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 at The Curtis Hotel, 1405 Curtis St., Denver, CO. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1jtMSQZ

--“Ready for an Iran Deal: No Nuke & No War.” Briefing call from the Truman National Security Project; moderated by Dave Solimini. July 17 at 12:30, call-in number and link provided in RSVP confirmation materials. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1zrGtdx

--“Nuclear Centers of Excellence in Asia: Next Steps.” Discussion with Kazunori Hirao, Laura Holgate, and 11 other speakers. July 18 from 9:00 to 4:00 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 212-A/B Conference Room, 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. RSVP by email to Robert Kim at rkim@csis.org

--“Iran: Diplomacy or War?” Netroots Nation discussion with Ali Gharib, Heather Hurlburt, and Sen. Chris Murphy; moderated by Matt Duss. July 18 from 11:00 to 12:15 at COBO Center, Room 141, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, MI. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1jtO5rr

--“Progressive National Security in the 2014 Elections and Beyond.” Netroots Nation discussion with Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione, Mike Darner, and Megan Minnion; moderated by Emily Cadei. July 19 from 1:30 to 2:45 at COBO Center, Room 140 D, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, MI. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1jtO5rr