It's by no means the end of the line for the administration's plan to design and build a new nuclear weapon, but the road to the "Reliable Replacement Warhead" just got tougher. A congressional subcommittee has voted to eleminate all funding for the replacement warhead, calling first for a review of nuclear strategy, the Washington Post reports:
In taking that action, subcommittee Chairman Peter J. Visclosky (D-Pa.) said there would be funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program "only when a future nuclear weapons strategy is established." In so doing, he echoed a call for such a study that was included in the fiscal 2008 Defense Authorization Bill, which passed the House last week.
Support for the Reliable Replacement Warhead has been lackluster at best, even among Republicans, who have criticized the lack of a clearly articulated plan for the nuclear weapons complex.
