The Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed a billion-dollar hike for the nuclear weapons program, with significant increases for New Mexico's nuclear weapons laboratories.

In a joint announcement, New Mexico's two Democratic Senators, Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, called the result good news for the state.

"The spending bill working its way through the Senate gives unprecedented support to Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories," Bingaman said. "President Obama has plans to shrink our stockpile deterrent, and that means the stockpile stewardship programs at our two labs will be more important than ever."

The measure recommended a 36 percent increase in stockpile stewardship work, $225 million for pre-construction work on the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement facility, $197 million for environmental cleanup and $20 million for the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos.

New Mexico's senators once again salvaged funding for the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. LANSCE would receive $30 million next year if the item is sustained. The funds were not included in the administration's budget request.

The Senate's version of a funding bill for the Department of Energy would contain $28.3 billion for the next fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1. While keeping the budget flat for most of the department, the bill would increase the overall budget of the National Nuclear Security Administration by 12 percent to $11.1 billion.

Voting along party lines, 17 Democrats approved and 12 Republicans opposed the bill.

The Energy and Water appropriations bill passed with little discussion and one formal challenge.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., proposed an amendment to restore funding to continue the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. It failed in a roll call, 13-16.

In the House of Representatives, a bill emerged from a subcommittee with $99 million less than the White House request for the weapons activities.

"However, it would still provide an 8 percent increase over the present budget cycle of $6.4 billion for that appropriations line," said Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., the committee vice chairman, in a statement.

To become law, the appropriations bill must be passed by both houses and signed by the president.

The directors of New Mexico's two weapons labs testified recently at a Senate Foreign Relations hearing on the New START arms-control treaty, where they made a related pitch for long-range funding commitments.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio expressed several concerns about future budgets for the nuclear weapons complex.

"This effort will require sustained focus from multiple administrations and congresses over several decades," he said. "I fear that program expectations may already be out of line with the fiscal realities faced by the country. The nuclear infrastructure needs and stockpile needs have the potential for squeezing out the rest of program."

Anastasio said he was concerned that science would be squeezed if it had to compete with those other priorities.

He also sounded the alarm for a growing pension shortfall, which relied on an extra $46 million this year.

"Next year, the pension shortfall is expected to be $77 million and in FY12, the shortfall is expected to grow to about $200 million," he said.

The Obama administration has proposed an $80 billion increase in nuclear weapons funding to bolster support for the new START treaty with Russia, but Sen. Jon Kyle, R-Ariz., has called for $100 billion.