RSN: Sanders: 'The Convention Will Be a Contested Contest', Koch Brothers Struggle to Block Climate Action in State Legislatures, Republicans Don't Want to Know Costs of US Nuclear Arsenal

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Sanders: 'The Convention Will Be a Contested Contest'

Rebecca Savransky, The Hill
Savransky writes: "Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Sunday said there will be a 'contested contest.'"
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Sanders Beats Clinton in Major Upset, Trump Knocks Out Cruz
Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News
Goodwin writes: "Bernie Sanders triumphed over Hillary Clinton in Indiana's open primary Tuesday, boosting the grassroots candidate's argument that the party's superdelegates should flip their support to him in July's Democratic convention."
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Raise the Minimum Wage, Reduce Crime?
Jukeyka Lantigua-Williams, The Atlantic
Lantigua-Williams writes: "If putting people in jails and prisons does not reduce crime, what does? More education, more job opportunities, school enrichment activities, and a basic living wage."
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Republicans Don't Want to Know Costs of US Nuclear Arsenal
Alex Emmons, The Intercept
Emmons writes: "Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives have lined up to quietly kill a cost estimate of the Pentagon's three-decade nuclear modernization program, which experts predict will exceed $1 trillion."
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Northrop Grumman's concept art for a forthcoming plane. (photo: Northrop Grumman)

epublican lawmakers in the House of Representatives have lined up to quietly kill a cost estimate of the Pentagon’s three-decade nuclear modernization program, which experts predict will exceed $1 trillion. The vote was mentioned briefly in Politico’s morning briefing list last week but otherwise received no media coverage.

The Pentagon is already moving to refurbish its 1,900 deployed nuclear warheads and replace each leg of its nuclear triad — its land, sea, and air-based delivery systems. In October, the DOD signed a contract with Northrop Grumman to produce a new long-range strike bomber, and its proposed budget plan sets aside hundreds of billions of dollars to buy a new generation of ICBMs, nuclear submarines, and cruise missiles.

In the mid-2020s, those expenses are scheduled to overlap with major purchases of aircraft carriers and the F-35 joint strike fighter, leading to a surge in spending that experts have called “unsustainable,” “unaffordable,” and “a fantasy.”

Brian McKeon, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters in October that the Pentagon was “wondering how the heck we’re going to pay for it,” and that current leadership is “thanking [their] stars we won’t be here to have to answer the question.” In November, the Pentagon comptrollercalled the cost of nuclear modernization “the biggest problem we don’t know how to solve yet.”

On Wednesday, four hours into a marathon hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., proposed a measure that would require the Congressional Budget Office to predict the cost of modernization over 30 years. The CBO is currently required to estimate the costs only 10 years out, which would overlook the longer-term surge.

Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., spoke in support of the amendment.

“We’re going to spend an incredible amount of money on what amounts to a new nuclear arms race. It will take money from other programs. … We ought to be aware of it, but we will be blind to the total cost,” Garamendi said.

Republican Michael Rogers, R–Ala., rallied his colleagues against the amendment, claiming that a 30-year cost estimate may not provide reliable data.

“In all candor, a multi-decade cost estimate wouldn’t be worth the paper it was written on,” said Rogers. “This amendment would result in false, unreliable data in the public debate.”

But Aguilar fired back, pointing to a 30-year cost estimate of shipbuilding programs the committee’s Republicans had approved. “If we’re not going to do long-term planning,” Aguilar said, “then let’s be honest about it.”

The measure was defeated 26-36, with all Republicans voting in opposition.

In the last election cycle, Rogers received more than $65,000 in campaign contributions from defense contractors, including $5,000 from Northrop Grumman, the company producing the new long-range strike bomber.

Nuclear policy experts were quick to condemn Rogers’s dismissal of a long-term study.

“Rep. Rogers continues to believe that ignorance is bliss when it comes to increasing transparency about the long-term cost of U.S. nuclear weapons,” said Kingston Reif, director of threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association. “Yes, it’s true that 30-year costs are speculative. But Congress should want all the information it can get about the cost of these plans, especially in the 2020s and 2030s.”

It is unclear whether the Senate Armed Services Committee will consider a similar measure in coming months.

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/36681-republicans-dont-want-to-know-costs-of-us-nuclear-arsenal

Texas Just Licensed a Controversial Immigration Detention Center as a Child Care Provider
Esther Yu-Hsi Lee, Think Progress
Lee writes: "Texas officials have granted a temporary child care license to an immigration detention center - apparently arguing that mothers benefit from the services there, despite evidence that the facility actually provides inadequate care to immigrant women and children."
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European Governments Are Arresting Refugee Crisis Volunteers
Mark Wilding, Vice News
Wilding writes: "On April 15, volunteer groups issued a joint statement denouncing the 'unjustified arrest and detention of at least 25 volunteers in recent days.'"
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Koch Brothers Struggle to Block Climate Action in State Legislatures
Aliya Haq, EcoWatch
Haq writes: "An alphabet soup of polluter-funded groups is taking credit for the latest state legislative push against climate action. The groups, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the American Energy Alliance (AEA) and the State Policy Network (SPN), all receive funding from the Koch brothers and their goal is to stymie the Clean Power Plan."
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