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Quigley Urges $7.6 Million Cut to Nuclear Warhead Funding

July 10, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) pushed the House to cut $7.6 million in excessive funding for next generation long-range cruise missile nuclear warheads. His amendment to the FY14 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill would target allocated funds that were well over the $9.4 million level requested by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and redirect them to deficit reduction.

"It's time we take a smarter approach to our nuclear weapons strategy," saidRep. Quigley during debate on the house floor last night. "Ask yourselves, should we be adding money above the request for a warhead that goes on a missile that the Pentagon doesn't even know it wants and one we probably don't even need?"

To read the full transcript and watch video of Rep. Quigley's speech, please click here.

The amendment cuts funds that would be directed to build warheads for next generation cruise missiles, even as the Pentagon does not currently have a clear plan for the weapon and the Air Force has not committed to moving forward with building it. The Pentagon and the NNSA are only now in the process of evaluating the need and potential requirements for the next generation cruise missile, and the current arsenal of Air Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCMs) is expected to be in service well into the 2030's.

The amendment was supported by the National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Arms Control Association, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers), Women's Action for New Directions, National Priorities Project, Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Tri-Valley CAREs, Ploughshares Fund, Peace Action, Just Foreign Policy, Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The amendment had bipartisan support but eventually failed to pass the House of Representatives by a vote of 181-239.

Rep. Quigley is an outspoken advocate for nuclear arms reduction, working in the House Appropriations Committee to overhaul unlimited defense spending. He previously worked to cut $23.7 million in wasteful funding for the B61 nuclear bomb program, urged a one-third reduction in America's ICBMs stockpile, and called for cost sharing among NATO allies. He is the author of Reinventing Government: The Federal Budget, a report which offers 60 recommendations to save $2 trillion over the next 10 years.

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