Key Elements of the FY 2011 Budget Request for Nuclear Weapons and Nonproliferation

The Fiscal Year 2011 budget request for nuclear weapons and nonproliferation includes major increases in funding for new facilities, for warhead maintenance, and for nonproliferation programs. In proposing this funding, the Obama administration is seeking to build Congressional support for its far-reaching nuclear security agenda. The agenda includes a clear commitment to maintaining the existing nuclear arsenal, a push to ratify two major arms control treaties, a pledge to reduce the roles and numbers of nuclear weapons, and support for the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. Balancing those sometimes competing priorities will be an on-going challenge for the administration.