New Report Recommends Cuts to DOE Budget for FY 2006

* New Report Recommends Cuts to DOE Budget for FY 2006

A report released recently by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) analyzes 10 nuclear programs in the Department of Energy's (DOE) FY 2006 requested budget. The report, entitled "Top Ten Department of Energy Radioactive Pork Projects in the 2006 Budget: Wasteful and Dangerous," identifies seven nuclear weapon programs, including the Reliable Replacement Warhead, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator and the Modern Pit Facility, and three nuclear energy programs, including the Nuclear Energy Revival. It concludes that the funding for these programs should be cut or eliminated, while funding for environmental cleanup should be increased. All together the proposed changes would immediately cut $1.8 billion from the DOE budget.

ANA is a network of more than 30 local, regional and national non- governmental organizations representing the concerns of communities located near nuclear weapons sites and radioactive waste dumps.

DOE's budget request is currently in the committee where the House and Senate versions of the bill will be reconciled. The House version cut $228 million from the nuclear weapons budget and restored $453 million for clean up.

ANA supports the budget cuts made by the House, but goes further to suggest other cuts that could be made. These programs include the Life Extension and the Reliable Replacement Warhead. Both programs, which are intended to refurbish and modernize existing nuclear weapons, could be accomplished under the Stockpile Systems Programs that are intended for upkeep and maintenance of the current nuclear stockpile.

ANA states that the Life Extension Program is designed for a Cold War sized arsenal and would go beyond warhead maintenance and be used for warhead development. Likewise, the report finds that the Reliable Replacement Warhead Program would support a permanent nuclear arsenal and allow for the possibility for new weapons designs. The report finds that these programs, among others, would be contrary to the commitments and obligations of the United States under the Non Proliferation Treaty. The report recommends total elimination of both programs. Such action would cut over $357 million from the FY 2006 Budget and save an estimated $2.4 billion over the next five years.

ANA also identifies the proposed Nuclear Energy Revival as a dangerous source of wasteful spending. The House included a new plan for storing commercial nuclear waste at DOE sites and reprocessing it on-site. ANA recommends that Congress eliminate funding promoting nuclear energy programs. The report states, "Nuclear power is unsafe, expensive, and generates huge amounts of dangerous waste. Reprocessing, or "recycling" nuclear waste into nuclear fuel is tremendously expensive creates additional wastes and encourages nuclear proliferation."

The cuts proposed by ANA would save billions of dollars over the next five years, money that could be used for environmental cleanup. The report states, "These cuts are a step in the right direction to reduced federal deficits and form the basis for better nuclear policy. Over the next five years, billions more could be cut from DOE's budget that could be redirected toward addressing the environmental and health legacy of nuclear weapons production and deficit reduction."

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