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Senate adds no funds for nuclear security

The Senate Armed Services Committee slammed the Air Force’s and Defense Department’s handling of nuclear weapons but did not provide the Air Force extra money it says it needs to improve nuclear security.

A report accompanying the Senate’s version of the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill says recent nuclear weapons screw-ups “demonstrate a lack of attention by the Department of Defense … to nuclear issues in general.”

The report, made public Wednesday, criticizes the accidental transfer of nuclear weapons from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in August 2007; the 2006 shipment of classified nuclear warhead parts to Taiwan discovered in March 2008; and a lack of training and staffing for the nuclear mission.

“Three reviews of the nuclear weapons transfer incident concluded that attention to nuclear matters has substantially eroded over the last decade,” the report says. “This erosion … has led to inattention to nuclear procedures and policies. The three review teams made over 100 recommendations to address the many problems. The committee will be watching closely how DOD and the Air Force implement these recommendations.”

The Minot-Barksdale incident last year led to Minot losing its certification to handle nuclear weapons and prompted two internal reviews and a Defense Department investigation. After the Taiwan incident, Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a complete nuclear inventory led by a Navy admiral.

The Air Force did not include money for additional nuclear security measures in its fiscal 2009 budget request because the proposal was prepared before the needs were identified. But the service’s unfunded priority list — which highlights needs the Air Force could not fit into its budget — requested $122 million for 11 nuclear-security related initiatives.

The Senate committee declined to add the funding for any of these projects, but directed Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne to develop “a rational plan” to fund nuclear security enhancements and to include the plan in its fiscal 2010 budget.

The report also instructs Gates to establish a senior position in the Defense Department Office of Policy with responsibility for nuclear policy issues.

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the defense spending bill May 1, but the measure is still far from becoming law. The House Armed Services Committee is finalizing its version of the bill this week, and then the full House and Senate must pass their respective bills. Finally, the differences in the bills must be ironed out in conference and the compromise version approved by the president.

While fiscal 2009 begins Oct. 1, Congress usually is unable to finalize the spending bill until late fall or winter.