Language Added to House Defense Approps Bill Requiring NATO Nuclear Cost Share Report

Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Appropriations Act that would require the Department of Defense to provide a report to Congress on the nuclear contributions of U.S. NATO allies. The amendment was adopted as part of a manager’s package of provisions, and while the language only requires a report from the Pentagon, the amendment’s author, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), suggested it represented a first step toward getting NATO allies to foot the bill for U.S. nuclear weapons deployed in Europe.

He said it also better help inform decisions about the “affordability and rationale” for the B61 life extension program and the nuclear capability for the F-35. “American taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to pay the entire bill for a nuclear weapon arsenal in Europe designed to fight a Cold War that no longer exists,” Quigley said in a statement. “As we reassess our 21st century fiscal and strategic needs and the cost of maintaining our European arsenal rises, it is not unreasonable to expect our NATO allies to share a proportional amount of the burden.”