Senate Dems Press Biden Admin To Shrink Nuclear Weapons ArsenalSenate Democrats are pressuring the Biden administration to cut construction of a critical missile program even as China and Russia drastically increase their firepower, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), the authors of the letter, are urging national security adviser Jake Sullivan to alter the administration's stance on nuclear weapons in the 2022 defense budget. The letter comes as Democrats strive to shutter the advanced nuclear program in favor of technology that was first tested by the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. The senators' campaign puts them at odds with the Biden administration's senior Pentagon officials, who have expressed support for nuclear modernization. The lawmakers' direct appeal to the National Security Council presents a litmus test for where the White House stands on the vital issue.
"We write to express concern regarding [the] President's FY22 budget requests for nuclear weapon modernization," Merkley and Warren wrote. "The high funding levels suggest that the Biden administration embraces its predecessor's reckless mission to build new nuclear weapons. … We believe that the Trump-era nuclear buildup must be halted."
Even as the senators take aim at efforts to overhaul the aging Minuteman III program, which is the United States' only ground-based nuclear missile, President Joe Biden's Pentagon brass have voiced support for nuclear modernization efforts. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who oversees the nuclear portfolio, told lawmakers in February that modernization plans must be driven by strategy, not ideology or budgets, and that ground-based nuclear missiles are part of the "bedrock" of America's missile defense. Internal budget memos from the Biden Pentagon show nuclear modernization programs are a "number one priority" for the Department of Defense.
Military officials say cuts to the modernization program would prove financially disastrous and risky to U.S. national security. Air Force Global Strike Command chief Timothy Ray said in May an extension of the older Minuteman program would cost taxpayers $38 billion more than the planned upgrade. An aging nuclear arsenal also endangers U.S. national defense as China covertly builds more than 100 missile silos in its desert and Russia develops exotic nuclear missiles..............
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/senate-dems-press-biden-administration-to-shrink-nuclear-weapons-arsenal/
