Heidi Alexander: “I applaud the President for the updated report that was received on November 17. A lot of work was done. This is a lot…”

“I applaud the President for the updated report that was received on November 17. A lot of work was done. This is a lot of money to say we want to make sure these nuclear weapons work and we are going to spend $85 billion over 10 years. The intent of Senator Kyl's amendment, though, is not to tie the President's hands, it is to give him more options. I think it is to encourage this big, slow-moving government not to waste the money but to save money. The language says: The President shall certify to the Senate the President intends to accelerate, to the extent possible, the design and engineering phase. At the Oak Ridge facilities, which Senator Kyl visited, he was told that the savings annually to taxpayers of having the new facility versus the old facility are in excess of $200 million. So every year we do it, every year this is completed, the taxpayers save $200 million. So if the President and the Appropriations Committee should decide that a 2-year or 3-year advanced funding will save $200 million a year at a time when we are all dedicated to trying to save money, we should do that.”