WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Joe Biden has failed to take responsibility to modernize the US nuclear arsenal, which has currently run into shambles, Senate Armed Services Committee leaders Roger Wicker and Deb Fischer wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that the US Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) program to replace the Minuteman III missiles is estimated to cost nearly $131.5 billion or 37% more than the original cost.
“We must hold the administration accountable for its failures,” the senators wrote in the op-ed published on Friday. “But to make up for decades of neglect, our colleagues in Congress must also commit to restoring US industrial health and developing the workforce required to keep America’s nuclear forces armed and ready for any challenge.”
The Republican senators vowed to use all congressional oversight tools to maximize taxpayer investment in the Sentinel program, including expanding training for skilled workers, applying the Defense Production Act to broaden construction commodity availability and stabilizing inflation.
The senators added that they believe these efforts to hasten the modernization of the US nuclear arsenal would receive bipartisan backing in Congress.
