U.S. Congressman: Government "shutdown" could lead to layoff of nuclear weapons department employees

Reference News Network, October 18 report - According to AFP, on October 17, the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services warned that a government shutdown could force most employees responsible for managing the U.S. nuclear weapons to be laid off.

According to the report, Republican Congressman Mike Rogers told journalists: "Last night we were just informed that the funding used by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is responsible for managing our nuclear stockpile, is about to run out. They will have to lay off 80% of their staff."

Due to the Senate's tenth failure on October 16 to pass a Republican proposal to restart government operations, the federal government shutdown is destined to enter a new week, with no sign of resolution yet.

The report said it is unclear whether Rogers was referring to temporary furloughs during the shutdown or permanent layoffs.

However, he also said: "These are not the employees you want to lay off. They are managing and disposing of an extremely important strategic asset for us. They need to stay on the job and get paid."

According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the United States currently has 5,177 nuclear warheads, of which approximately 1,770 are deployed. (Translated by Tu Qi)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7562437722695877135/

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