A feasibility study for refurbishing the cruise missile warhead will go forward in Fiscal Year 2015, according to funding legislation released last night by House and Senate appropriators. The $9.4 million study represents a sliver of the overall budget for the National Nuclear Security Administration in the catch-all spending package, but the decision to include money for the study represents a victory for Republicans, who pushed for the funding against the objections of Senate Democrats. The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee zeroed out funding for the study earlier this year in its version of the bill, but the compromise “cromnibus” legislation unveiled last night preserved the funding.
Overall, the bill provides $8.23 billion for the NNSA’s weapons program, an $83 million cut from the Administration’s $8.31 billion request. The House provided $8.2 billion for the weapons account, while Senate Appropriators matched the Administration’s $8.31 billion request. The bill fully funds the Administration’s $643 million request for work on the B61 refurbishment, $259.2 million request for work on the W76 refurbishment, and its $165.4 million request for work on the W88 Alt 370. The bill also fully funds the Administration’s $335 million request for work on the Uranium Processing Facility, while lifting a restriction on the use of construction funds prior to the 90 percent design threshold.