Super Committee Failure Must Not Derail Nuclear Budget Cuts
Super Committee Failure Must Not Derail Nuclear Budget Cuts
National Security Priorities Must Guide Nuclear Weapons Spending
Washington, D.C. – In light of the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to reach agreement, Joe Cirincione, President of Ploughshares Fund and Philip Yun, Executive Director of Ploughshares Fund released the following statement.
"As everyone is now aware, the United States can no longer afford to recklessly buy economic or military success on credit. The security of our nation depends on our ability to meet both the fiscal and security challenges of the moment. The failure of the super committee to do this sends a disturbing signal to both our citizens and to our allies that the United States is unable to make the hard choices about its financial future required to maintain its economic and military strength.”
- Philip Yun, Executive Director, Ploughshares Fund
“We must now recommit to finding solutions to our fiscal woes – and defense spending must be part of the solution. Our spending on the military must preserve our economic future while ensuring that our troops are well prepared to face the threats of the 21st century. As budgets tighten and threats evolve, it is time to reduce our spending on multi-billion dollar nuclear weapons programs configured for the Cold War. We must invest our resources in combatting the economic and military challenges we face today.
We cannot allow politics to trump our national security needs. Bipartisan forces in Congress, led by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) are leading the way forward on a nuclear spending strategy that makes sense for the 21st century, both fiscally and militarily. Congress should follow their lead.”
- Joe Cirincione, President, Ploughshares Fund