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U.S. Congress resists 'bunker buster' By Nicholas Kralev THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published May 10, 2005 The Bush administration faces strong opposition in Congress to funding for research to bolster the U.S. nuclear arsenal for the second year in a row, but it may receive a limited budget for one program, administration and congressional officials say.     The proposal that met most resistance from both Democrats and Republicans is the creation of a Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP), the "bunker buster" that would be able to break through rock.     "The Pentagon has been interested in improving our capabilities for several years, and...

Bush Budget May Fund Program That Congress Cut Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sent a memo last month to then-Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham saying next year's budget should include funds to resume study of building an earth-penetrating nuclear weapon designed to destroy hardened underground targets. An Energy Department official said yesterday that $10.3 million to restart that study is expected to be included in the Bush administration's budget, which is to be released next week. The study, which had been undertaken at the Los Alamos, Sandia and Livermore national laboratories, was halted late last year after Congress deleted $27.5 million...