Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
6/13/2014
Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee this week 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 added to the bill 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.
Quigley said the provision would 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.”
‘Growing Costs of this Mission’ a Concern
In a statement, Quigley noted that the five European countries that house about 200 U.S. nuclear weapons—Turkey, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany—foot the bill for facility and security costs to host the weapons, but the U.S. pays the bulk of the costs for the weapons, including money to pay to refurbish the bombs. That includes the refurbished B61 bomb, which is slated to cost $8.2 billion, according to estimates by the National Nuclear Security Administration, or even more based on Pentagon estimates. The language added to the bill cites the “growing costs of this mission” as the reason for the report. “This report should include the effects of NATO proportional cost-sharing on the Department’s five year costs of maintaining forward-deployed nuclear weapons and shall be submitted not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act,” the amendment says.
Previous Attempt at Similar Language Failed
Earlier this year, Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee attempted to insert language into the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act that would’ve fenced off funding for the B61 life extension program until the Administration pursues a cost-share agreement with NATO allies on the warhead refurbishment, but Republicans opposed that provision and it was not adopted. Quigley’s amendment, which does not fence off any funding for the B61, is viewed as a compromise. Congressional aides say the Pentagon already provides information on the nuclear contributions of NATO allies, but proponents of the amendment have argued that the language will lead to regular and more formal reporting from the Pentagon and provide more lawmakers with a clearer picture of the situation.