Nuclear weapons, nuclear safety – the $trillion USA cost

Money for Food or for Nuclear Bombs?OpEdNews Op Eds 3/31/2014 By Madelyn Hoffman We live in strange times, indeed. In the past few months, the U.S. Congress has failed to extend unemployment benefits for 1.3 million people and has passed legislation that will cut $8.6 billion in food stamps over the next 10 years, affecting 850,000 households in 1/3 of the states.

At the same time, the 2015 budget shows a 7% increase in spending on nuclear weapons, from $18.6 billion to $19.4 billion — almost $1 billion. While the overall amount allocated for nuclear weapons is greater than last year, the funds dedicated to nuclear nonproliferation programs — programs to reduce the numbers of available warheads or securing so-called “loose nukes” was cut, making more dollars available to either build new nuclear weapons hardware or spend billions to modernize old ones, such as the B-61 bomb………

costs added together total $1.0095 trillion for 2015!

Here are two ways to reduce this. Two nearly identical bills in the U.S. Congress today target nuclear weapons spending to save money. Senator Markey, D-Mass, introduced the “Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE)” Act and Rep. Blumenauer, D-Ore, introduced the “Reduce Expenditures in Nuclear Infrastructure Now (REIN-IN)” Act. According toEric Tamerlani’s article “Reining in Nuke Spending the Smart Way” in the March 12^th Roll Call, these bills will save taxpayers $100 billion on nuclear weapons over 10 years. The bills would reduce the number of new nuclear submarines, cap tactical nuke modernization and scrap the F-35’s nuclear mission.

In late April, pro-disarmament activists from around the world will gather at the United Nations to prepare nuclear disarmament proposals to present at the 2015 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. Sharon Dolev, Director of the Israeli Disarmament Movement, will participate. She will also speak on “Cooling the Hot Spot: A Nuclear Weapons Free Middle East” at NJPA’s April 27^th Annual Dinner at the Regency House in Pompton Plains. Her talk will address what a nuclear weapons free Middle East means for Israel, the region, and the world, as well as obstacles within Israel to attaining that important goal. For more information and to make reservations, visit www.njpeaceaction.org.

Cooling off tensions in the Middle East and preventing another war will release funds for programs that address community needs. This is not only timely, but essential, for genuine security in our nation and the world. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Money-for-Food-or-for-Nucl-by-Madelyn-Hoffman-Budget_Diplomacy_Food-Stamps_Food-Stamps-140331-42.html