By John Fleck and Michael Coleman

From the Albuquerque Journal

The U.S. nuclear weapons program appears headed for another budget increase in the coming year, but it will likely be less than the Obama administration had hoped.

A key Senate committee Wednesday signaled what appears to be a bipartisan congressional consensus to put the brakes on the administration’s plans for big increases in coming years.

Members of the Democratic-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee joined their House Republican colleagues in voting to trim the administration’s requested spending hike for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear weapons work, which provides much of the support for spending at two major national labs in New Mexico.

The Senate committee approved spending $7.19 billion next year on the NNSA’s nuclear weapons program, up 4 percent from this year. House appropriators in July approved $7.09 billion, a 3 percent increase over this year. The administration had requested $7.6 billion, a 10 percent increase.

Neither action is final. The differences between the House and Senate spending recommendations must now be reconciled in a conference committee before the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1. Failing that, Congress could instead approve a “continuing resolution,” which would likely be based on the current year’s budget.

Among the specific programs targeted are cuts to the administration’s request for construction money for a new plutonium lab at Los Alamos and funds for refurbishing the nation’s stockpile of B61 nuclear bombs.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who chairs the subcommittee, said the budget increases approved by the committee should be sufficient to meet national security needs.

“The increase follows the highest priorities identified in the nuclear posture review and developed during the discussions about the new START treaty,” Feinstein said at the hearing.

She also pointed out that much of the weapons modernization spending is mandated by treaties or existing federal law, highlighting spending for new nuclear materials buildings at Los Alamos and at Oak Ridge in Tennessee.

Feinstein, who has opposed efforts to expand America’s nuclear weapons capabilities in the past, noted that the mandatory weapons spending erodes money for other projects.

“I have to point out this is mandatory spending,” she said. “The increases in security spending come at the expense of nondefense water and energy projects.”

The committee repeated criticisms made by their House colleagues about the rapidly rising cost estimates for the Los Alamos plutonium lab. The administration had requested $300 million next year for the multibillion-dollar project. The Senate committee cut that to $240 million.

The committee also cut into the administration’s request for money to refurbish the nation’s B61 nuclear bombs, a Los Alamos-designed weapon that is one of the mainstays of the nation’s nuclear deterrent force.

The committee’s report questions whether changes proposed as part of the refurbishment involve “untried technologies” that could jeopardize the long-term reliability of the weapon. Both Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs play major roles in the refurbishment effort.

New Mexico’s two Democratic senators both issued statements reacting positively to the bill.

“The federal budget is tightening, so it is significant that the labs’ budget is increased overall in the Senate bill,” said Sen. Jeff Bingaman. “As the bill continues to work its way through Congress, we will be working hard to ensure our labs have the funding they need to fulfill their missions.”

“Overall, this bill bolsters the critical roles that LANL and Sandia play in our national security and in New Mexico’s economy,” said Sen. Tom Udall. “I’m satisfied with the budget growth for these institutions. However, there is also room for improvement in the area of nuclear waste cleanup that will be important to address as the bill moves forward.”