Nuclear Arms Labs Say ‘Fiscal Realities’ Weigh on U.S. Arsenal

Directors of the three U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories said today they are worried the nation’s fiscal troubles and a lack of political consensus may threaten their ability to maintain the stockpile of warheads.

While President Barack Obama’s proposed budget increase of more than $600 million for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 will help restore cuts of recent years, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio said he is concerned “that program expectations may already be out of line with the fiscal realities faced by the country.”