Could a nuclear vacation be in store for Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.)? Perhaps if Markey accepts Turner’s invitation to tour uranium and plutonium facilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Markey last week introduced legislation to slash nearly $100 billion in funding anticipated for modernizing the nation’s nuclear deterrent, including the Uranium Processing Facility planned for Y-12 and the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility, which until the Administration deferred the project this week was planned for Los Alamos. Markey called plans to spend billions on modernization “insane” and said the nation’s current facilities are adequate to maintain the nation’s deterrent.
In a Feb. 15 letter, though, Turner challenged Markey to visit the facilities. “I believe that you will see first-hand that your statements do not reflect the deteriorating circumstances of the facilities,” Turner said, adding: “Without replacements, we will, at some point in the not-too-distant future, be unable to ensure the safety or security of the nuclear deterrent. If either of these facilities were to fail, the United States would find itself, simply put, without the capability required to remain a nuclear weapons state.” A spokesperson for Markey did not respond to a request for comment.
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