Four Years to Rein in Loose Nukes

In April 2009, President Obama in Prague pledged "a new international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years." Last year, the leaders of all 47 nations at the Nuclear Security Summit adopted these goals and a detailed plan to achieve them.
 
This commitment is now being tested. Obama's FY2011 budget includes nearly $1.7 billion for "improving controls on nuclear weapons, material, and expertise."* This covers 19 programs in the Departments of State, Energy, and Defense. It represents an increase of $394 million over 2010, expanding efforts to remove or secure highly enriched uranium and other fissile materials in sites around the world, helping Russia convert weapons-grade plutonium into nuclear reactor fuel, establishing regional nuclear security "centers of excellence," and increasing training for those who track and secure nuclear materials.
 
House and Senate subcommittees voted last summer to provide full funding for most of these programs, but that is now being threatened. Even though these initiatives are critical to preventing the unauthorized access to nuclear materials and devices, they are under attack by the Republicans' plans to severely cut all except military budgets.
 
The nonproliferation effort is too important to let Capital Hill politics control the outcome. The threats of nuclear catastrophe are real, and can only be reduced through such programs by the U.S. and other countries.  This budget barely covers what is needed to achieve the four-year goal.  The cost of a nuclear disaster will be far greater than preventing one. And the toll in human lives and suffering would be unfathomable.

Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose any reduction in funding for programs their committees have already approved to secure, control, and reduce weapons-grade nuclear materials worldwide. Don't let short-sighted budget-cutting do damage to these essential efforts to prevent nuclear disaster.

Contact information:
 
Telephone: Call the Senate switchboard (202) 224-3121, ask for your Senator's office. Once there, ask for her/his legislative aide on defense issues and leave your message with that aide.
Online: Click here: www.senate.gov, search for your senator, and leave a message.
Write: Senator (first & last name), U.S. Senate, Washington D.C. 20510

*As analyzed by Matthew Bunn in his excellent report, Securing the Bomb, available online at www.nti.org.

Photo: Moss Heart, by Edie Mueller.