Nuclear funding is decreasing now
Ambrose 23 – (Mitch Ambrose is the Director of Science Policy News at the American Institute of Physics, “FY24 Budget Outlook: National Nuclear Security Administration,” 8-23-2023, https://ww2.aip.org/fyi/fy24-budget-outlook-national-nuclear-security-administration)//NA
The Senate appropriators also take issue with NNSA’s invocation of “requirements” to justify budget increases. They point out that NNSA lab directors have for over two decades certified annually that the nuclear stockpile remains reliable, despite NNSA not meeting all its declared requirements during this period. “As such, the blanket requirements phrase, devoid of further explanation, has little meaning to the [Appropriations] Committee, especially as the agency’s projects’ and programs’ costs and schedules continue to experience growth and delays,” they argue.
They propose that NNSA produce a rank-ordered list of the most important infrastructure projects needed over the next two decades, and that it be prohibited from spending 20% of its budget until it provides the list to Congress.