Admin. to Request $8.8B for NNSA Weapons Program, $1.9B for Nonpro.

The Obama Administration later today will request $8.8 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program in Fiscal Year 2016, accelerating funding for key modernization efforts like the cruise missile warhead, W88 Alt 370 and Uranium Processing Facility, NS&D Monitor has learned. The $677 million increase from FY 2015 enacted funding levels is also accentuated by a shift of $234 million in Nuclear Counterterrorism and Incident Response and Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation funding to the NNSA’s nuclear nonproliferation account. Overall, the Administration is planning to request $1.94 billion for the nonproliferation account, an increase of $325 million. However, with the Nuclear Counterterrorism and Incident Response and Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation funding added to the nonproliferation account, the increase in requested funding is less than $100 million.

 

Within the weapons program, funding for the W76 and B61 weapons programs is expected to remain relatively flat while the cruise missile warhead and W88 Alt 370 see funding increases. The Administration will request $100 million for domestic uranium enrichment, which will primarily go to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to keep the current American Centrifuge Project running in warm standby. The funding request for the Uranium Processing Facility is also expected to rise to $430 million, up $95 million from FY 2015 funding levels. Within the NNSA’s nonproliferation account, the Administration is expected to request $345 million for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, matching FY 2015 funding for the project.