Nuke and Nonpro Highlights of House Armed Services Committee Action on the FY09 Defense Authorization Bill

The Center’s Chris Hellman and Travis Sharp put out their Analysis of House Armed Services Committee Action on the FY2009 Defense Authorization Bill (HR 5658) yesterday. The full analysis is available online and the press release is here.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) completed its markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Defense Authorization bill (HR 5658) on May 15, 2008. HASC's marked up bill recommends an overall FY2009 authorization level of $601.4 billion, the amount requested by the administration. This $601.4 billion total includes $70 billion for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and $531.4 billion for National Defense (function 050). Of the $531.4 billion slated for National Defense, $515.2 billion is for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $16.2 billion is for the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons activities.

The FY2009 Defense Authorization bill is expected to come up for floor consideration in the House on May 22. The Senate Armed Services Committee completed its markup of its version of the FY2009 Defense Authorization bill on May 1. The full Senate is expected to consider its version of the bill sometime in June.

Included below are highlights, funding provisions, and legislative provisions relating to nuclear weapons and nonproliferation issues.

BASE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

Prompt Global Strike – Fully funds the $118 million request for the "Prompt Global Strike" program, plus provides an additional $7 million under the program for the Army's Advanced Hypersonic Weapon.

Missile Defenses in Europe – The bill includes $341.2 million for Research & Development and Military Construction for long-range missile defense sites in Europe, $371 million below the request. The bill also restricts funding from being obligated until the governments of the Czech Republic and Poland have agreed to basing and status of forces agreements, and DOD certifies that the system has demonstrated a "high probability of working" through "operationally realistic flight testing." (For more information, see this and this Center analysis)

Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) – The bill does not authorize any of the Navy's $23.3 million request for RRW, but does redirect $13.3 million of the request for Arming, Fuzing, and Firing (AF&F) systems that could be used either for RRW or for an existing weapon refurbished through the Life Extension Program. The bill does not authorize any of the NNSA's $10 million request for RRW within Directed Stockpile Work, but it does add $10 million within Advanced Certification to address questions raised by the JASON review of RRW.

Nonproliferation Programs and Cooperative Threat Reduction – The bill includes $1.5 billion in funding for Department of Energy nonproliferation programs, $208 million above the request. The bill also includes $445.1 million in funding for DOD's CTR "Nunn-Lugar" program, $31 million above the request.

Global Threat Reduction Initiative – The bill includes $389.6 million in Department of Energy funding, $170 million above the request, for GTRI, a program that strengthens nuclear and radioactive material security worldwide.

MAJOR WEAPONS SYSTEMS

Ballistic Missile Defense
Request: $10.2 billion
Committee: $9.5 billion ($719 million below request)

NON-PROLIFERATION PROGRAMS

Department of Energy Nonproliferation Programs
Request: $1.247 billion
Committee: $1.455 billion ($208 million above request)

DOD Cooperative Threat Reduction Program ("Nunn-Lugar")
Request: $414.1 million
Committee: $445.1 million

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NUCLEAR WEAPONS-RELATED ACTIVITIES

National Nuclear Security Administration
Request: $9.1 billion
Committee: $9.3 billion ($205 million above request)

Environmental and Other Defense Activities
Request: $6.9 billion
Committee: $6.9 billion ($28 million above request)

KEY POLICY PROVISIONS

Missile Defense Force Structure – The committee records that it "does not believe that the Missile Defense Agency has the appropriate expertise to set missile defense force structure requirements," adding that there is a "general lack of transparency and methodology." The committee directs the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive plan for setting missile defense force structure and inventory requirements. The plan must include a clearer delineation of responsibilities within MDA as well as separate program element budget request numbers for each specific element within the Terminal Defense Segment and Ballistic Missile Defense Sensors.

Study of Boost Phase Missile Defense – Requires the Secretary of Defense to commission an independent assessment of the costs and benefits of boost phase missile defense. The study would be responsible for examining the Airborne Laser and the Kinetic Energy Interceptor programs, amongst others.

Report on Nuclear Weapons Inventory Control – Noting concerns over the inadvertent transfer of nuclear weapons from Minot AFB to Barksdale AFB in August 2007, and the discovery in March 2008 that nose cones for Minuteman III missiles were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan in 2006, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy to jointly prepare a report on the steps the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy plan to take to address nuclear weapons inventory deficiencies.