Under the Defense Department's Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program,assistance is being provided to help Russia in expediting the eliminationof its strategic offensive systems pursuant to the START treaties.Efforts under the SOAE program include providing equipment, training,logistics, and facility construction to assist Russia in: ICBM silolauncher destruction; ICBM dismantlement; SLBM launcher and associateddismantlement of submarines; heavy bomber elimination; solid rocket motordestruction; liquid rocket fuel transportation and disposal; and otherrelated projects. This activity area receives the largest amount offunding of all programs in the U.S.-Russian cooperative nuclear securityarea. For FY 1999, Congress approved $142.4 million to CTR for this work.

Nuclear Weapon Storage and Transportation

Under CTR, the Defense Department and the Russian Ministry of Defense arecooperating to enhance storage and security of nuclear weapons prior totheir destruction. For FY 99, Congress appropriated $52 million for theseefforts.

Nuclear Warhead Dismantlement

CTR funds are also provided to assist Russia with "warheadpost-dismantlement processing," to help prepare dismantled warheads forstorage. This activity includes production of container inserts andreshaping of pits to nonclassified forms. For FY 99, Congressappropriated $9.4 million to CTR for this work.

Construction of a Fissile Material Storage Facility at Mayak

Under CTR, the U.S. is providing assistance to construct the necessaryinfrastructure and a wing of an advanced facility to store plutonium andhighly-enriched uranium from 6,250 dismantled nuclear weapons. For FY1999, Congress approved $60.9 million to continue work on this project.The first storage wing and related infrastructure is scheduled to becomplete by 2002. Because of Russian funding shortfall, additional U.S.assistance may be required in the out years to complete both wings of theMayak facility.

Fissile Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A)

This program, administered by the Department of Energy (DOE), works withRussia to enhance security over hundreds of tons of Russian weapon usablematerials not in weapons form. The objectives are to complete rapidsecurity, control, and accounting upgrades at all NIS facilities that useor store weapon-usable materials, foster development of an "indigenoussafeguards culture," and enhance the capability of these sites to maintainMPC&A upgrades over the long term. Work is underway at over 50 sites inthe NIS (about 40 in Russia). Congressional appropriators approved about$152.3 million for the MPC&A program (to come from the DOE's Arms Controland Nonproliferation budget) in FY 99.

Conversion of Plutonium Production Reactors at Tomsk-7 andKrasnoyarsk-26

In 1994, the U.S. and Russia agreed to cooperate in ending production ofweapon-grade plutonium being produced by Russia's three remainingplutonium production reactors (two are located at Seversk (Tomsk-7) andanother at Zheleznogorsk (Krasnoyarsk-26)). These reactors provide heatand electricity to the surrounding regions, but produce an estimated 1.5metric tons of plutonium per year. Pursuant to agreements signed byRussia and the U.S. in September 1997, DOD's Cooperative Threat Reductionprogram is assisting Russia to eliminate further plutonium production byconverting the reactor cores to a different fuel composition. Theoriginal goal was to have the core conversions completed by the end of2000. The costs of this project were also to have been split aboutequally between the U.S. and Russia. The initial project cost estimate in1997 was about $150 million. Both the FY 1999 Defense Authorization andAppropriations Acts allocate $29.8 million for this program.

American Purchase of Excess Russian Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

Under a 1993 U.S.-Russian Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) PurchaseAgreement, the U.S. is buying 500 metric tons of HEU from dismantledRussian nuclear weapons over a 20-year period. The HEU is downblendedwith natural uranium by Russia to low-enriched levels, and is shipped tothe United States where it is fabricated into fuel for commercial powerreactors.

Transparency measures are being implemented at four Russian closed cities(Seversk, Mayak, Novouralsk, and Kransoyarsk-45) to ensure that HEU isbeing blended down. Congress approved $13.6 million in FY 99 for this setof transparency activities.

Russia nearly withdrew from the HEU deal last year, however, because ithad not been compensated for the natural uranium content of the LEU itdelivered to the United States during the past two years. Under the"Emergency Supplemental Appropriations" section of the FY 99 OmnibusConsolidated spending bill passed by Congress in October, $325 million wasapproved for direct U.S. purchase of the natural uranium stockpileassociated with the 1997 and 1998 deliveries.

Disposal of Excess Weapons-Grade Plutonium from Dismantled Warheads

In September 1999, Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin each agreed to remove 50metric tons of plutonium from their nuclear weapon programs and dispose ofthe material so it can never again be used in weapons. U.S. and Russianteams are currently negotiating an agreement that accomplishes that goal.Prior year funding for cooperation with Russia on plutonium dispositionhas supported only small-scale tests, demonstrations, and preliminarydesign of a two metric ton/year capacity facility to convert plutoniummetal warhead "pits" into plutonium dioxide. This conversion is aprerequisite for either of the two anticipated disposition methods:burning the plutonium as "MOX" fuel in reactors, or immobilizing it inglassified waste logs.

Congress provided $25 million in "no year" funding (funds which remainavailable until expended) for this effort.

In addition, Congress provided $200 million in the FY 1999 EmergencySupplemental Appropriation which is also "no year" funding, butallocations of this amount are dependent on an agreement being reachedwith Russia spelling out details of its plutonium disposition plan.

Overall, Congress provided $168.9 million in funding for fissile materialdisposition. Of this amount, $25 million was designated for design of aU.S. pit disassembly and conversion facility, and $28 million for designof a U.S. mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility. Conferees on the Energyand Water Appropriation bill also agreed to provide $5 million for jointU.S.-Russian development of gas reactor technology for the disposition ofweapons plutonium. ($2 million for work to be done in the U.S.; $3 forwork in Russia, on the condition that Russia matches this amount infunding or in-kind contributions.)

The conferees also underscored their desire that the Energy Departmentseek private sector financing or funding from other nations for futuresupport of plutonium disposition work in Russia. They instructed DOE toreport to Congress by the end of FY 99 on progress of negotiations towarda U.S.-Russian plutonium disposition agreement, including the status ofmatching funds from Russia, other countries, and the private sector.Finally, the conferees prohibited the U.S. from proceeding unilaterallywith disposition of its plutonium until parallel progress had beenachieved in Russia.

Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR)

This program supports development of low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuels tofurther conversion of foreign research and test reactors operating onhighly-enriched uranium and facilitates expedited return of U.S.-originspent fuel from overseas. The total FY 99 budget for the RERTR program is$6 million. About $1 million is budgeted for work with Russian labs andinstitutes to convert their research and test reactors to LEU use.

Nuclear Export Controls

In this area, the leading program has been the Energy Department's NuclearExport Control assistance program, which is helping Russia, the NIS, andthe Baltic countries establish norms, procedures, and a legalinfrastructure for nuclear export control. About $14 million is allocatedfrom the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation budget for this work.During FY 1998, the DOE also provided $3 million for the Second Line ofDefense (SLD) program which assists Russia in installing accreditedRussian-manufactured nuclear detection monitors at agreed upon sites, andhelps train Border and Customs officials in identifying nuclear materialsand sensitive items that may transit the border. This support enabledRussia to equip and train Border and Customs personnel at two Russiantransit sites (one near the Caspian Sea and another at Moscow'sSheremetyevo airport). A total of $3 million is expected to be allocatedfor SLD activities from the FY 1999 budget. Russia has requested SecondLine of Defense training and equipment for 25 additional critical sites.

In addition, the State Department provides funds for export control andborder security assistance from its "Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism,Demining, and Related Activities" (NADR) appropriation. In FY 1999, about$19 million is to be allocated from this budget to improve NIScapabilities and infrastructure to implement Nuclear Suppliers Group,Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group, and Wassenaar-relatedcontrols, and controls in the aerospace/dual-use sectors.

Finally, since 1997, Congress has authorized DOD to reprogram funds to twocounterproliferation programs to provide training, equipment, andtechnical assistance to border, customs, and law enforcement officials inthe NIS, Eastern/Central Europe, and the Baltics. These two programs, theDOD/FBI Counterproliferation Program, and the DOD/Customs ServiceCounterproliferation Program are overseen by the National SecurityCouncil, coordinated with the State Department, and implemented by theDefense Department, in conjunction with the FBI, Customs Service, andother U.S. agencies.

Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI)

This is a DOE-led effort to work with Russia in its planned downsizing ofthe Russian nuclear weapons complex by developing new peaceful jobopportunities for an estimated 50,000 workers and scientists. The NCI wasagreed to initially in March 1998, and in September 1998 SecretaryRichardson and Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Adamov signed agovernment-to-government agreement on the Initiative. The NCI will beginits activities this year in three of the ten "closed cities". For FY 99,Congress earmarked $15 for the NCI to come from within available DOEfunding and prior year balances.

Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP)

Congress also earmarked $25 million in FY 99 to come from within availableDOE funding and prior year balances for the IPP program. The IPP helpsfacilitate commercial joint ventures between U.S. businesses and Russiannuclear, biological, and chemical weapon institutes. Since its inceptionin 1994, IPP has sponsored over 400 projects that have employed over 4,500weapon scientists.

International Science and Technology Center

The International Science and Technology Center in Moscow (and a sistercenter in Kiev) provide grants directly to former Soviet weapon scientistsand experts to redirect their expertise to civilian activities. Over22,000 scientists have been involved in more than 550 ISTC projects. Thisis a multilateral program, and about 60% of the funding comes from the EU,Japan, Norway, Sweden, and South Korea. The FY 99 Congressionalappropriation is $21 million.