Representative Blumenauer and Senator Markey Introduce Legislation to Reduce Spending on Nuclear Weapons Programs
Washington, DC– Today, Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) introduced the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act – a bill that would save the United States approximately $100 billion over the next 10 years by reducing or eliminating unnecessary nuclear weapons programs. As Congress considers the FY 2016 budget, the SANE Act aims to adopt a more practical and stable nuclear deterrent to reduce costs and risks without compromising U.S. security or that of our allies. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
A recent report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that U.S. nuclear weapons planning calls for spending over $350 billion over the next decade, and up to $1 trillion over the next 30 years, to build a nuclear force that will far exceed what the administration and security experts have said will be needed to effectively deter a nuclear threat. Such spending is not only problematic for taxpayers, but those deeply committed to a strong and capable military. The SANE Act aims to inject fiscal responsibility and strategic reality into the administration’s nuclear weapons planning.
“Pouring more than one trillion taxpayer dollars over the next three decades into last century’s weapons is a nonsensical national security strategy. Our current plans for newer nuclear weapons are simply unaffordable, unnecessary, and unsafe. A sensible first step is to eliminate the most wasteful spending,” said Angela Canterbury, Executive Director of the Council for a Livable World and Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. “We applaud Senator Markey and Rep. Blumenauer, and their cosponsors, for offering SANE and strategic savings. Just imagine how $100 billion could strengthen our economic and national security. These smart savings will not in the least reduce our overwhelming nuclear defense and should garner bipartisan support.”
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