{"id":59011,"date":"2020-08-25T17:47:50","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T17:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/25\/trump-administration-sends-mixed-signals-on-nuclear-weapons-budgeting\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:19:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:19:44","slug":"trump-administration-sends-mixed-signals-on-nuclear-weapons-budgeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/08\/25\/trump-administration-sends-mixed-signals-on-nuclear-weapons-budgeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration sends mixed signals on nuclear weapons budgeting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Defense hawks in Congress are pushing a contentious plan to give the Pentagon a stronger hand<\/a> in crafting nuclear weapons budgets<\/a>, but the Trump administration has been sending mixed messaging over recent weeks about whether the change is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate-passed version of the annual defense policy bill would give the Pentagon-led Nuclear Weapons Council a say in the budget development of the National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy that\u2019s responsible for the stockpile\u2019s safety, security, and effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities Vic Mercado told reporters that change is unneeded; the status quo between the Defense Department\u2019s nuclear modernization efforts and NNSA is appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think right now we have it about right,\u201d Mercado said in an interview this month. Nuclear deterrence falls under Mercado\u2019s portfolio as an adviser to the defense secretary and undersecretary for policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remarks could be read as neutral as the House and Senate debate competing proposals as part of their deliberations on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Senate-passed proposal would grant the Nuclear Weapons Council new authority to edit NNSA\u2019s budget request after the Energy Department crafts it and before the request is submitted to the White House budget office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House-passed bill would instead establish the secretaries of defense and energy as co-chairs of the Nuclear Weapons Council, versus the undersecretary of defense for acquisition of sustainment and the NNSA administrator today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercado said that he had \u201cheard of all these initiatives to try to skew it one way or the other,\u201d but that the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition of Sustainment Ellen Lord, NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the armed services and DoD\u2019s policy shop, today all share, \u201ca very healthy and productive\u201d relationship on the topic of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe work we\u2019ve done with NNSA, as we we go through modernization, prioritization and efforts like that to make sure that their industrial base and [plutonium] pit generation is healthy and supports us \u2015 I think there\u2019s there\u2019s always creative tension, but I think it\u2019s healthy tension,\u201d Mercado said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Separately, the House passed a prohibition<\/a> on DoD coordinating the NNSA budget within the Nuclear Weapons Council as part of a larger appropriations package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House\u2019s July 30 threat to veto the package objected to that provision, saying: \u201cWhile respecting the independence of each department is important, ensuring the proper degree of coordination in the nuclear modernization efforts of both departments is also important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee have been pressing for more public advocacy from the administration against those Democrat-led proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At an Aug. 6 hearing, several lawmakers prompted the nominee to be assistant secretary of defense nuclear, chemical, biological, and defense programs, Lucas Polakowski, to argue the council should provide guidance and assistance to the NNSA as it develops its budget each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SASC Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and a top nuclear modernization advocate asked Polakowski: \u201cIf confirmed, what would you think if you were prevented from even seeing the NNSA budget until after it was finalized for submission to Congress?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that would be a mistake and would severely impair not only our existing triad but our modernization efforts going forward in the future and, in fact, could potentially jeopardize our national defense quite significantly,\u201d Polakowski responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inhofe outlined the House proposal, eliciting Polakowski\u2019s opinion: \u201cI think that\u2019s a mistake and I would not support it, senator.\u201d Polakowski also agreed with Inhofe that this would give the energy secretary new, \u201cveto power\u201d in the budgeting process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inhofe earlier in the year clashed<\/a> with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette after he backed a larger budget request<\/a> than Brouillette sought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an exchange with Airland Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Polakowski warned that if DoD didn\u2019t participate in NNSA\u2019s budget process, it would lead to \u201cuncontrolled spending. And most importantly, our nation\u2019s deterrent would suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polakowski would be designated staff secretary for the Nuclear Weapons Council. A managing member at IT firm Everest Technologies, he previously served as deputy director at U.S. Strategic Command\u2019s Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in the hearing, SASC ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., told Polakowski of his, \u201cconcerns about your expertise in nuclear matters, since you have great experience in chemical and biological weapons. I would hope you will focus a great deal of your attention on getting up to speed with respect to nuclear matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Congress deliberates on the defense policy bill, the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank released its recommendations<\/a> Tuesday, which argued against elevating the chairmanship of the Nuclear Weapons Council to the secretary level, as the House proposed. For one, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition of sustainment has, \u201cthe expertise and time to give nuclear weapons the attention they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe House change would put the Secretary of Energy in a position to veto decisions that relate exclusively to DOD capabilities,\u201d the report reads. \u201cAs the customer of the NNSA, the DOD should maintain its sole leadership of the council.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Defense hawks in Congress are pushing a contentious plan to give the Pentagon a stronger hand in crafting nuclear weapons budgets, but the Trump administration has been sending mixed signals over recent 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