“The DOE requested about $537 million for the B61 Life Extension Programs, but the GOP-led House Appropriations Committee provided $23.7 million more than the department asked for. In a report, the committee explained the nuclear program had its funding boosted because it had a ‘troubling history of insufficiently planning for its ongoing production requirements.’ Polis noted that the Air Force had recently doubted the effectiveness of the B61 nuclear bomb. A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the bomb was virtually useless, Polis explained. In addition, some European allies no longer wanted the bomb deployed in their country.”
