Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used to enhance the explosive yield of every thermonuclear weapon. Tritium has a radioactive decay rate of 5.5% per year and has not been produced in this country for weapons purposes since 1988. To compensate for decay losses, tritium levels in the existing stockpile are being maintained by recycling and reprocessing it from dismantled nuclear weapons. To maintain the nuclear weapons stockpile at the level called for in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) II (not yet in force), however, a new tritium source would be needed by the year 2011. If the START I stockpile levels remain the target, as is now the case, tritium production would be needed by 2005.

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Recent proposals have been made to enact either a temporary or a permanent capital gains tax cut. The former would probably gain revenue in the first 2 years but lose that revenue and more, most likely within the following 3 years. H.R. 3090, passed by the House, would lower the top tax rate from 20% to 18% for assets held at least a year. The Senate Finance Committee version of H.R. 3090, does not reduce capital gains taxes. A capital gains tax cut appears the least likely of any permanent tax cut to stimulate the economy in the short run; a temporary capital gains tax cut is unlikely to provide any stimulus. Permanently lower capital gains taxes can contribute to economic efficiency in some ways and detract from it in others. Capital gains tax cuts would favor high income individuals, with about 80% of the benefit going to the top 2% of taxpayers.

The end of the Cold War and its impact on defense spending has created a strong need to reform Department of Defense’s (DOD) acquisition system. With procurement spending down, DOD expects to depend on savings from acquisition reform to help finance future force modernization. Policymakers believe that DOD should use more commercial products because, in many instances, they cost less and their quality is comparable to products built according to DOD military specifications. Many such reform proposals are based on recognition that DOD regulatory barriers and a Cold War acquisition “culture” have inhibited the introduction of commercial products.

On June 27, the Bush Administration released an amended FY2002 budget for the Department of Defense (DOD). The amended budget requests a total of $328.9 billion for DOD, an additional $18.4 billion above the Administration’s “Blueprint” budget released in April. The amended budget included an additional $5.6 billion for DOD’s Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) program. This raises the FY2002 RDT&E request to $47.4 billion, $6.3 billion above the total obligational authority available for RDT&E in FY2001.

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