United Church of Christ Action Alert
The Senate and the House will take up military authorization bills this week that would provide $422 billion in spending through the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy -- a $21 billion increase over the current fiscal year. There are two highly questionable spending areas that are a focus of concern as the Senate and possibly the House soon take up debate: new small nuclear weapons and anti-ballistic missiles.
The Administration's proposed budget increases funding for a new nuclear bomb called the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEB) or the "bunker buster." Proponents call them "small" nuclear weapons, but they would be 70 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War II and would generate large amounts of radioactive fallout with their underground explosions. Particularly troubling is the rhetoric that these are the tactical weapons of the future that could be justifiably used in first-strike wars, such as the war on Iraq.
The proposed budget for these new nuclear weapons includes $27.6 million for research this year and $500 million over five years for development. The President is also asking for an additional $9 million to study the development of other "small" nuclear weapons. Similar proposals were voted down in Congress last year.
The President's budget also calls for further building and deployment of anti-ballistic missiles (ABM). This program can only be seen as a payoff to military contractors, since this system has failed to pass any realistic tests after decades of research and development. Prior to 2001, reports of failed tests and phony test results from Vandenburg Air Force base and elsewhere were routine in the media. However, the Bush Administration early on dropped the federal requirement that the media be notified when tests are to take place and has subsequently placed the entire system in a shroud of secrecy. Amendments to cut $150 million from ABM spending are expected to be offered during debate.
Contact your members of Congress and urge them to oppose funding for these weapons. To send an e-mail or fax click here.