Nuke Force Cost Through ’25 Pegged at $348b

The Obama administration’s plans to fund the nation’s nuclear forces through 2024 would cost roughly $35 billion annually, totaling $348 billion, according to a Jan. 22 report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The figures take inflation into consideration. CBO’s figure factors in estimates prepared separately by the Defense and Energy departments. The Defense Department pegs its 10-year figure at $227 billion, while the Department of Energy’s comparable figure is $121 billion. Nevertheless, the newest CBO figure differs slightly from its own December 2013 projection for nuclear-program costs from 2014 through 2023 — $355 billion. The CBO report attributed the differences to changes in cost projections, which rose in some categories while declining in others. CBO also cited modernization programs and budget-driven delays. Each had a role in the new, lower figure, CBO stated.