WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2021) Democratic US lawmakers Ed Markey and Ed Blumenauer on Thursday announced the reintroduction of draft legislation that would seek to curb the country's refurbishment of its nuclear arsenal thereby saving $73 billion over the next decade.
"Senator Edward Markey and Congressman Earl Blumenauer today reintroduced the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act, which would cancel or reduce nuclear weapons programs over the next decade and generate at least $73 billion in cost savings," Markey said in a press release.
President Barack Obama, with current President Joe Biden as his vice president, introduced a $1 trillion nuclear modernization program in 2016; the program was continued by his successor President Donald Trump. Markey and Blumenauer had introduced the same bill in late 2019 but failed to garner the necessary traction to receive a House vote.
The bill would limit the plutonium pit production target to 30 per year - saving $9 billion, prohibit funding for a nuclear processing facility - saving $2.6 billion, retire the B83-1 megaton bomb as previously planned - saving $4.4 billion and prohibit the development of the new W-93 warhead - saving $7.5 billion, the release said.
The bill would also "cancel the development of a new air-launched cruise missile and ...warhead life extension program saving $13.3 billion, cancel the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and a new nuclear warhead saving at least $13.6 billion and cancel the development of a new submarine-launched cruise missile saving $9 billion," the release said.
The legislation would ban deploying "low-yield" warheads and any space-based missile defense, remove the nuclear mission from the F-35 and cut the Columbia-class strategic missile submarine fleet from twelve to eight, cut the existing ICBM force from over 400 to 150, and reduce deployed strategic warheads from 1,500 to 1,000 saving $13.6 billion, the release said.
