ADVERSARIES U.S. nuclear warheads are decades old, while Russia, China, and North Korea have built up and modernized their arsenals.
replace the aging pits in our current weapons as part of our larger refur- bishment strategy. New pits are also needed for any
new weapons we hope to build. Department officials determined that the United States would need to produce a minimum of 80 pits per year by 2030 to be able to reach our national security goals by 2080. To meet this goal, Congress
passed a bill instructing the Nation- al Nuclear Security Administration (known as the NNSA) to resume plu- tonium production in two separate facilities in 2015. Congress tasked the Los Alamos
National Laboratory in New Mexico with a goal of 30 pits per year. The Savannah River Site in South Caro- lina is responsible for the remain- ing 50 to achieve the 80-pit-per- year capacity. But that hasn’t happened.
Instead, pit production has been postponed repeatedly. Most recent- ly, NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby estimated that the United States will hit its production goals sometime in 2036 — six years later than pro- jected.
These new pits are essential for developing new weapons to deter aggression from hostile nations. Consider the W87-1 Modification Program. Under this program, the United States is developing a new warhead to ride atop the next gener- ation of ICBMs — intercontinental ballistic missiles. But these weapons cannot run
on the old pits. They require a new design. The delayed pit production means these warheads, and our abil-
ity to deter China’s growing arsenal, is delayed, too. Now, I understand that pluto-
nium pit production is not simple. And like many other workplaces in the United States, supply chain issues and a shortage of qualified workers created unexpected prob- lems for our capacity goals. But there is a difference between encountering unexpected challeng- es and simply failing to prepare. And investigations show the NNSA has not taken its preparation seri- ously enough. The Government Accountability
Office determined that the NNSA lacked both a comprehensive sched- ule and a cost estimate for its plu- tonium projects. Importantly, the NNSA also lacked an integrated master schedule that can be used to coordinate everything from produc- tion to staffing. Administration officials recently announced more concrete schedules and cost estimates, but that cannot make up for the valuable time we’ve already wasted. And concerningly, the NNSA
remains on the Government Accountability Office’s list of orga- nizations that are at high risk for “fraud, waste, abuse, and misman- agement” because of its practices. Modernizing our nuclear stock-
pile is essential for maintaining our national security and affirming our position as a global leader. We’ve agreed to help defend
our allies who don’t have nuclear weapons of their own. But our allies see our antiquated stockpile and wonder if we can follow through
on that promise. According to the Pentagon, China
already has more ICBMs than the United States. In 2021, China had 400 nuclear warheads. By 2035, China will have 1,500, far outpacing the Pentagon’s initial projections. China is also rapidly innovating.
The Chinese military has been test- ing nuclear-capable hypersonic mis- siles that can fly five times the speed of sound — roughly 3,800 miles per hour. A few weapons China is test- ing could leave its intended target only minutes to respond. Our ability to deter unstable
nuclear powers and maintain a peaceful world relies on our ability to continue innovating in ways only freedom-loving Americans can. But these vital projects rely on our plu- tonium pit production. And failing to produce pits at full capacity is unacceptable. As ranking member on the Appro-
priations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, I know we will continue our focus on this issue as we modernize our nuclear stock- pile for the peace and safety of gen- erations to come. I urge my colleagues to make it a
priority, too. We can’t fix this prob- lem overnight, but if we continue to work in a bipartisan fashion, we can restore our stockpile to its former glory. It is time for the United States
to get serious about revitalizing its nuclear arsenal so that we can con- tinue to have the most reliable and sophisticated defense systems on the planet. Why is this so important?
Because peace through weakness never works. Never.
JULY 2023 | NEWSMAX 23
CHINA PARADE/KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY IMAGES / MISSILE/RUSSIAN MOD
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