The Republican-led Congress has rejected the Bush administration's request for $36 million to study new low-power nuclear warheads and a weapon that could smash into deeply buried bunkers.
Though the administration could try to restore the funds, the bipartisan actions suggested that several of President Bush's most contentious defense initiatives could be dead. The decision last weekend was overshadowed by the controversy over the collapse of White House-backed intelligence reform legislation.
"It's a little hard to tell other countries of the world not to develop nuclear weapons or new nuclear weapons when ... we are going to do it," said Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, who led a bipartisan effort to eliminate the funds.