BY NICKOLAS ROTH, MATTHEW BUNN AND WILLIAM H. TOBEY
With the globe focused on the US together with North Korea, it’s slow to forget that every president for a quarter-century has said preventing nuclear terrorism was a national safety priority. This includes the Trump administration, which identified inwards its Nuclear Posture Review that nuclear terrorism is 1 of “the most important threats to the safety of the United States.” It appears, however, despite this potent rhetoric, the direction may non last putting its coin where its rima oris is. The Trump direction is proposing massive cuts to vital programs responsible for securing nuclear weapons-usable fabric around the world. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the means primarily responsible for working amongst other countries to cut back nuclear terrorism risks, wants to cut back spending for nuclear safety programs by $115 1000000 inwards 2019, a 26 per centum reduction from terminal year.
Most alarmingly, over the side yesteryear side iii years, it proposes cutting programs to increase safety at nuclear facilities yesteryear lx percent, from $355 1000000 estimated inwards 2016 (the terminal fourth dimension the executive branch produced five-year nuclear safety budgets) to $143 million. It proposes cutting the amount of coin the US plans to pass on removing nuclear weapons usable fabric yesteryear 64 per centum over the side yesteryear side iii years, from an estimated $410 1000000 inwards 2016 to $146 million.
Cuts to U.S. nuclear safety programs did non stimulate amongst the Trump administration. Over the yesteryear 5 years, U.S. funding for such efforts has dropped by nearly l percent, reducing some programs to their lowest funding levels inwards to a greater extent than than xx years. Even when those budgets were beingness cut, however, the Obama direction planned major projects 1 or ii years inwards the future. For example, the US has spent years convincing Belarus, Kazakhstan, together with South Africa to eliminate large quantities of highly-enriched uranium from their soil.
In the past, the U.S. budget would include coin for removing this fabric when agreements were reached. Additionally, the US is showtime the procedure of identifying together with repatriating to a greater extent than than a ton of nuclear weapons-usable plutonium it shipped around the globe decades ago. The Trump administration’s long-term nuclear safety budgets no longer include coin for accomplishing these goals.
It volition at 1 time last upward to Congress to reply to the administration’s nuclear safety budget. Congress needs to sustain the priority of nuclear security, inwards programs non only inwards words. It tin terminate make this yesteryear pursuing the next iii strategies.
First, Congress should straight the direction to railroad train a comprehensive, multifaceted strategy to secure all nuclear together with radiological weapons, materials together with facilities worldwide, amongst an emphasis on prioritizing the fabric posing the greatest risks. This strategy should, inwards particular, focus on encouraging together with incentivizing countries to brand nuclear safety a priority; ensuring that all nuclear materials, weapons together with facilities around the globe are protected against all plausible threats inwards those countries; assessing together with strengthening nuclear safety civilization at nuclear facilities; together with supporting efforts to cut back safety costs yesteryear consolidating nuclear materials to fewer sites.
Second, Congress should allocate adequate resources to execute a comprehensive nuclear safety strategy. President Trump’s electrical flow budget asking is sufficient for a express nuclear safety effort, but non for a broader, comprehensive programme focused on meaningful gamble reduction. As inaugural of all steps, Congress should turn down proposed cuts to NNSA nuclear safety programs, supply nuclear safety spending to roughly its FY 2016 grade of only over $500 million, together with straight the direction to seat how much funding would last needed for a comprehensive nuclear safety effort.
Third, relevant congressional committees should smooth a low-cal on the nuclear terrorism threat. Congressional committees bring non held in-depth hearings focused on strategies for reducing nuclear terrorism risks inwards a long time. The Senate together with House Armed Services or Intelligence Committees should handgrip hearings on this topic annually, highlighting countries together with regions that are most vulnerable to nuclear theft; emerging nuclear safety threats; progress inwards reducing nuclear terrorism threats; together with impediments to progress.
The Senate National Security Working Group (NSWG) or WMD Caucus should asking briefings from the Trump direction on this issue. This should include senior-level briefings, but likewise discussions betwixt Congressional together with Department of Energy (DOE) staff focused on implementation at the programmatic level. The NSWG likewise should asking a briefing from DOE’s Nuclear Materials Information Program, which manages a database containing all U.S. information regarding global nuclear fabric stocks together with how good they are protected.
At a oral communication inwards Fort Myer, Virginia, President Trump declared terminal summertime that the US “must forestall nuclear weapons together with materials from coming into the hands of terrorists together with beingness used against us, or anywhere inwards the world.” This tin terminate occur solely if the president together with Congress allocate plenty coin to attain this task. This is a finish worthy of bipartisan cooperation thence rare on Capitol Hill these days.
Nickolas Roth is a query associate amongst the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science together with International Affairs. Matthew Bunn is professor of exercise together with co-principal investigator amongst the Project on Managing the Atom. William H. Tobey is a senior boyfriend amongst the Belfer Center together with erstwhile deputy administrator for defence strength nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
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