Nuclear Weapons Profiteers Beware: This will not stand – $94 billion increases in cost of nuclear weapons over next decade – to $494 billion, a 23% increase since 2017
While DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) keeps digging a hole in avoiding preparing the legally required Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on expanded pit production, here’s a good sign on push-back by key member of Congress against unneeded, unjustified production at SRS of plutonium “pits” for nuclear weapons
Representative Adam Smith, new chair of the House Armed Services Committee, issues statement in response to Congressional Budget Office’s report on soaring costs of nuclear weapons
“Smith Statement on $94 Billion Increase in Estimated Cost of Nuclear Weapons Upgrades” – January 24, 2019 – linked here
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report “Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2019 to 2028” – January 2019 – linked here
— on plutonium pit production, see page 5 – pit production to drain $1 billion per year out of the pockets of patriotic Americans, while DOE contractor$ profit
“Expanded Capacity to Produce Plutonium Pits
To implement the third increase in capability called for in the
NPR, DOE plans to boost its production capacity so that it can
produce at least 80 plutonium pits per year by 2030; previous
plans called for the capacity to produce 50 to 80 pits. DOE
plans to expand its existing and planned production facilities
at Los Alamos, New Mexico, and also to begin production at
a second site by adapting a partially built facility at Savannah
River, South Carolina, that had been originally intended for
another purpose. CBO’s estimate includes about $9 billion from
2019 to 2028 for expanded pit production capacity, although
that estimate is very uncertain.”