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Next Generation Nuclear Security Summit - April 12-13, 2010
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fissile materials working group

The Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), a nongovernmental coalition of over 40 U.S. experts representing many of the top nonproliferation and nuclear security organizations in the country and also includes several international partner organizations.  Members of the FMWG collaborate in a series of meetings designed to create consensus behind top fissile materials priorities, develop actionable policy proposals, and package recommendations for implementation by U.S. and foreign government officials.

The FMWG has been a forceful presence in support of improved fissile material security and the prevention of nuclear terrorism.  Important milestones for the FMWG include the publication of its consensus recommendations to the Obama Administration for improving nuclear material security (September 2009); the convening of a summit of international experts and supporting events in support of the official Nuclear Security Summit (April 2010); and a series of regional meetings to explore international perspectives on nuclear security (October 2010 - April 2011).  These activities highlight the urgency of this agenda and engage a broad array of international stakeholders.  Please click here for a summary of the FMWG's acitivites to date.  To view the FMWG's condensed work plan, please click here.

Media Contact:
Sean Harder
sharder@stanleyfoundation.org
319-455-6397


The Steering Committee is comprised of the following professionals:

  • Kenneth N. Luongo, President, Partnership for Global Security (co-chair)
  • Alexandra Toma, Executive Director, Connect U.S. Fund (co-chair)
  • Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom; Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project, Harvard University
  • Togzhan Kassenova, Associate, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Miles Pomper, Senior Research Associate, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
  • Jennifer Smyser, Program Officer, Policy and Outreach, The Stanley Foundation
  • Sharon Squassoni, Director and Senior Fellow, Proliferation Prevention Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Benn Tannenbaum, Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Paul Walker, Director, Security & Sustainability, Global Green USA
     

Key Staff:

Ryan Costello
FMWG Coordinator
202-721-5600 x. 5724
 

Michelle Marchesano
mmarchesano@partnershipforglobalsecurity.org
202-332-1412

Experts Urge Congress to Resist Nuclear Security Funding Cuts
Jun4
Posted by Sean Harder
Release Date: 
06-02-10
 Washington, DC - Nuclear security experts praised initial congressional action on the President’s budget request for nuclear security, but warned that election year pressure might result in cuts to programs that help keep vulnerable nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists.
 
Alexandra Toma, Program Director at the Connect U.S. Fund and Co-Chair of the Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG) said, “It is unnerving to consider that pressures posed by the 2010 congressional elections may potentially lead to compromises in the nuclear security funding that the Administration has proposed to make Americans safer.” 
 
Both the House and the Senate Armed Services Committees approved measures that fully funded the Obama administration's $2.7 budget request for Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation programs, but members are likely to face pressure to divert funds towards more domestically popular programs in an election year.
 
"The actions last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the full House of Representatives in providing full funding for the nuclear proliferation programs of the Energy Department are important steps in meeting the administration's goal of securing all vulnerable bomb-grade nuclear material in four years,” said David Culp, Legislative Representative for the Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) and a member of the FMWG. “The next test will be the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, where nonproliferation goals will be competing with domestic energy, science, and water programs.”
 
A nuclear terrorist attack anywhere in the world would have a ruinous impact on the U.S. and global economy. Any response to a successful attack will cost billions, dwarfing the proposed budgets for preventing it. In 2010, U.S. nuclear security spending represents about one-third of 1% of total defense spending. 
 
In an op-ed published in today’s edition of The Hill, Toma and FMWG Co-Chair Kenneth Luongo, urge Congress to “to act on that request to ensure nuclear materials stay out of the hands of terrorists.”
 
The Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG) is a coalition of more than 40 leading experts and NGOs in nuclear security. It was formed to support and help implement the goal of securing all vulnerable fissile materials as quickly as possible.
 
For more information, visit www.fmwg.org.
Contact Information: 

 Contact: Sean Harder, 319-455-6397 or sharder@stanleyfoundation.org

 

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