Spring Quarterly 2018
In keeping with the Trump Administration’s recent controversial Nuclear Posture Review, the new Fiscal Year 2019 federal budget, issued by the White House Feb. 12, dramatically ramps up nuclear weapons research and production. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Department of Energy’s semiautonomous nuclear weapons agency, is receiving a $2.2 billion overall boost to $15.1 billion—17% more than FY 2018. Of the total, a full $11 billion is for the budget category “Weapons Activities” [i.e. nuclear weapons], a full 18% above FY 2018. Digging deeper under Weapons Activities, “Directed Stockpile Work” is increased 41% from $3.3 billion to $4.7 billion. DSW is the hands-on, nuts and bolts operations that include extending the operational service of current nuclear weapons for up to 60 years, while also retrofitting them with new military capabilities.— Nuclear Watch New Mexico
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