July 9, 2013
 
Dear Representative:

Taxpayers for Common Sense urges you to support the Quigley-Polis amendment to the FY14 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that would trim funding for the B61 bomb back to the FY14 budget request. The request already increased funding for the upgrade program by 45 percent to $537 million and yet the Committee added another $23.7 million on top of the requested amount. In this tough budgetary environment the nation cannot afford to waste additional funding on this program, and this amendment smartly redirects the $23.7 million cut to deficit reduction.
 
The B61 was developed and deployed in Europe during the cold war in anticipation of war with the Soviet Union. Now it’s a bomb without a mission. The $10 billion life extension program has doubled in cost and should be reevaluated to find other lower cost, more effective solutions including cost-sharing with our European allies. Instead, the House FY14 Energy and Water Appropriations increases the stakes in this costly and wasteful program.
 
Again, Taxpayers for Common Sense urges you to support the Quigley-Polis amendment to reduce wasteful spending on the B61 upgrade and to reduce the deficit at the same time. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me or Steve Ellis at 202-546-8500 or steve[at]taxpayer.net.
 
Sincerely,

Ryan Alexander
President