Jeffrey Lewis flags some interesting testimony from a recent hearing on the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). Here's Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, apparently unaware that the Pentagon was not responsible for the program, or maintaining the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile in general:
MR. ENGLAND: So Mr. Hobson, I guess I was not aware that we were not paying for these programs - REP. HOBSON: You're not. MR. ENGLAND: - with Department of Energy, because - okay, I guess that's a surprise to me. I mean, I always thought we were funding those development programs and funding the DOE labs to do work for us. So I though there was a money transfer to DOD (sic) to do this. I guess I'm surprised -
That's like finding a couple billion in your pocket, right? Maybe it's even enough to convince England that the Air Force can afford a few extra F-22s.