Lawmakers introduce bills to cut, invest in nuclear weapons

A group of Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday to cut $100 billion in “outdated” nuclear weapons programs, while Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) announced he will drop a bill for continued investment in modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

The Democratic bill, led by Rep. Edward Markey (R-Mass.), would cut nuclear weapons in submarines, bombers, and missiles and kill some nuclear weapons facilities to reach the $100 billion savings.

Markey said the U.S. is wasting money on an outdated Cold War nuclear arsenal that can be trimmed while keeping a sufficient stockpile.

Turner, meanwhile, plans to introduce an updated version of his New START Implementation Act, which he first introduced last year. He said President Obama is not keeping his promise in the New START treaty with Russia to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.

In the 2013 budget, which was previewed by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last month, Obama appears to fall somewhere between Markey and Turner.

Panetta said the U.S. would maintain its nuclear triad — air, sea and land — which some had advocated could be cut to two. But the U.S. will delay production of its next-generation nuclear submarine.

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