Kenneth Fletcher
NS&D Monitor
5/15/2015
In the face of a White House veto threat over concerns including nuclear policy provisions, the House late this week passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act in a vote of 269 to 151. The bill sets authorized funding levels and policy for nuclear weapons and nonproliferation. Notably, a provision agreed to late this week during House floor debate would limit funding for implementing the New START arms reduction treaty with Russia until a number of conditions have been met. According to the amendment introduced by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), none of the funds in FY 2014 would be made available for New START implementation until the Defense Department and the State Department certifies that Russian armed forces “are no longer illegally occupying Ukrainian territory” and that Russia is “respecting the sovereignty” of the Ukraine. Additionally, Russia cannot be taking actions that are “inconsistent” with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and in compliance with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and that there are no “inconsistencies” by Russia with regards to New START requirements.
The House also approved by voice vote an amendment introduced by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) that would prohibit reducing the alert posture of the intercontinental ballistic missile force. The amendment states that the existing responsiveness and alert levels of the ICBM force are “critical” to providing “robust nuclear deterrence and assurance.” The amendment also states that reducing the responsiveness would be “deeply harmful” to national security and strategic stability in a crisis. Specifically, the provision prevents funding to reduce or preparing to reduce ICBM alert levels, while protecting ICBM maintenance and sustainment from a funding cuts.
White House Opposes MOX Provision
Before final passage of the bill, the White House released a statement of administration policy emphasizing that White House senior advisers would recommend a presidential veto without significant changes to the Committee version of the NDAA. Among provisions in the legislation opposed by the White House is a requirement to carry out construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, which the Administration last year moved to suspend. “This language is unnecessarily restrictive and would preclude alternative, and potentially more cost-effective approaches to implementing U.S. commitments in the 2000 Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement and its 2010 annex to dispose of excess weapons plutonium,” according to the Administration statement.
The Administration also stated its opposition to NDAA language that would limit funding for nuclear weapons dismantlement, as well as a section that would limit and condition authorizations of technology transfers and assistance to countries that have a Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Additionally, the Administration is opposing a provision in the bill that “would limit funds for nonproliferation or arms control verification or monitoring technologies from being used to develop technologies beyond technology readiness level (TRL) 5 unless certain requirements are met.”
Additionally, it is opposing a requirement for the Department of Energy to develop a schedule for transfer of excess facilities held by the National Nuclear Security Administration to the Office of Environmental Management for cleanup. Early this year DOE established a working group “that is already developing an analysis and options for how the Department may prioritize and address the numerous contaminated excess facilities owned by the various DOE program offices,” according to the Administration statement. “The path forward for disposition of these facilities should be determined through this ongoing analysis and appropriate planning, not a required three-year timeline for transfer.”
