Budget & Policy

House Democrats failed to slow procurement of next-generation, nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles via the 2020 National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA), the final version of which almost fully supports the Trump administration’s funding request and approves the National Nuclear Security Administration’s plan to build warheads for the missile. However, the bill is loaded with legally binding language […]

House Democrats opted not to fall on their swords this week to slow the ongoing nuclear arsenal modernization program, when they overwhelmingly supported passage of a National Defense Authorization Act that approves just about all the Department of Energy weapons spending requests for fiscal 2020. That means that through the Sept. 30 end of the […]

Members are Congress are keeping the pressure on the Department of Energy to explain why it gave Centrus Energy Corp. a sole-source contract to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel using a brand new, domestic-built cascade. Senators pressed now-Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette for details during the latter’s confirmation process, which wrapped up successfully last week […]

Members of the federal Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board would generally not be allowed to serve in expired terms any longer, if Congress’ compromise 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) becomes law. The measure would make an exception in cases where the departure of a board member would leave the nominally five-member body without its […]

A compromise National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would authorize all the nuclear weapons spending the White House seeks for fiscal 2020 for passed the House in a landslide Wednesday evening, despite earlier threats of resistance from left-leaning Democrats. The annual bill, which sets policy and spending limits for defense programs, passed 377-48. The “no” […]

An article in Wednesday’s edition of Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, “NDAA Would Stop DNFSB Members From Serving After Their Terms Expire,” should have said all three members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board are serving expired terms. An article in Monday’s edition of Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, “Final RFP for Nationwide Deactivation Contract Expected Soon, DOE […]

New Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette skirted a Nevada senator’s questions regarding his position on requiring consent from impacted state, local, and tribal communities in selecting the site for storage of nuclear waste. The issue of consent is of keen importance to Nevada’s state leadership and congressional delegation, which for decades have been fighting the […]

Members of the federal Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board would generally not be allowed to serve in expired terms any longer, if Congress’ compromise 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) published late Monday becomes law. The measure would make an exception in cases where the departure of a board member would leave the nominally five-member […]

A compromise defense policy bill published Monday would authorize all the nuclear weapon spending the Department of Energy sought for fiscal 2020, bar the agency from downgrading the hazard classification of certain nuclear waste in Washington state, and prohibit defense funding for the proposed Yucca Mountain permanent waste repository. The House is set to vote […]

Less than two months after U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced plans to leave Congress, several declared candidates are jockeying to take his place. Three Democrats and two Republicans have filed to run in their respective party primaries on May 19, 2020, according to the Ballotpedia website. The victors would then square off in the […]

Congress reached an accord on the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and was expected to file the conference report explaining the bill’s policy provisions and funding levels late Monday, a lawmaker said at a defense conference this weekend. “Conferences will be signing the conference report out Monday afternoon and introducing the bill Monday night, and […]

The U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) would move to keep inspectors on the job at Department of Energy defense nuclear sites beyond Dec. 20, if the federal government shuts down when the current stopgap spending measure expires. In the event of a government closure, “the Chairman may designate resident inspectors at designated DOE […]

Congress had not produced a compromise National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 as of Friday morning, prolonging a lack of authorization for key nuclear modernization programs. It was a week of whiplash predictions from top defense authorizers Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who in the aggregate appeared less certain of […]

Dan Brouillette was sworn in Wednesday as the 15th U.S. secretary of energy, after the Senate voted 70-15 to confirm him for the Cabinet spot earlier this week, a Department of Energy spokesperson said. Brouillette had served since 2017 as the deputy secretary of energy under Rick Perry, who resigned as secretary effective Sunday. The […]

Congress had not produced a compromise National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 as of early Friday afternoon, prolonging a lack of authorization for key nuclear programs. It was a week of whiplash predictions from top defense authorizers Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who in the aggregate appeared less certain of […]

Dan Brouillette was sworn in Wednesday as the 15th U.S. secretary of energy, after the Senate voted 70-15 to confirm him for the Cabinet spot earlier this week, a Department of Energy spokesperson said. Brouillette had served since 2017 as the deputy secretary of energy under Rick Perry, who resigned as secretary effective Sunday. The […]

Dan Brouillette was sworn in Wednesday as the 15th U.S. secretary of energy, after the Senate voted 70-15 to confirm him for the Cabinet spot earlier this week, a Department of Energy spokesperson said. Brouillette had served since 2017 as the deputy secretary of energy under Rick Perry, who resigned as secretary effective Sunday. The […]

Congress had not produced a compromise National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 as of Friday morning, prolonging a lack of authorization for key nuclear modernization programs. It was a week of whiplash predictions from top defense authorizers Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who in the aggregate appeared less certain of […]

The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees were emphatic Wednesday that a deal on a bicameral fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act could be reached by early next week, despite a number of issues remaining up for debate. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sets policy and authorizes appropriations for active nuclear-weapon […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in October spent $485 of its remaining balance from the federal Nuclear Waste Fund, leaving it with $405,992 absent further appropriations from Congress. As has been the case for most of the year, the agency spent just a few hundred dollars on unspecified program planning and support, according to the […]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dan Brouillette to be the 15th secretary of energy by a 70-15 vote, setting the stage for former secretary Rick Perry’s deputy to lead the roughly $30-billion-a-year agency responsible for U.S. nuclear weapons, waste, and energy. A Department of Energy spokesperson did not immediately reply to a query about […]

Oversight of contractors and environmental remediation remain at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Energy’s management challenges for fiscal 2020, according to a Nov. 15 special report from DOE’s Office of Inspector General. Other major concerns include nuclear waste management, cybersecurity, safeguards and security of DOE installations, civilian stewardship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, […]

The White House on Friday announced its intention to nominate David Wright to a full term on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Wright has served on the commission since May 2018. He assumed a seat vacated by Commissioner Jeff Baran, which expires on June 30, 2020. Baran, a commissioner since 2014, last year was confirmed […]

The U.S. Senate will vote Dec. 2, its first day back in Washington after Thanksgiving holiday break, on Dan Brouillette’s nomination to head the U.S. Department of Energy. The floor vote should occur around 5:30 p.m. ET that day, according to a Thursday Twitter post by the Senate’s Republican majority staff. Earlier Thursday, the Senate […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed another stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running nearly three months into the 2020 budget year. Major news organizations reported the president signed the agreement after the Senate earlier in the day voted 74-20 to pass a House amendment that extends the current continuing resolution to […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has set a March 3, 2020, primary followed by a May 12 special election to replace U.S. Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), who resigned on Nov. 1 after being targeted for investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Hill, who represented the state’s 25th Congressional District that adjoins the Santa Susana Field […]

The U.S. Senate will vote Dec. 2, its first day back in Washington after Thanksgiving holiday break, on Dan Brouillette’s nomination to head the U.S. Department of Energy. The floor vote should occur around 5:30 p.m. ET that day, according to a Thursday Twitter post by the Senate’s Republican majority staff. Earlier Thursday, the Senate […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday advanced three of the four Trump administration nominations for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The nominees approved on voice vote were: Bruce Hamilton, current DNFSB chairman; current board member Jessie Hill Roberson; and Thomas Summers, former vice commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed another stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running nearly three months into the 2020 budget year. Major news organizations reported the president signed the agreement after the Senate earlier in the day voted 74-20 to pass a House amendment that extends the current continuing resolution to […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed another stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running nearly three months into the 2020 budget year. Major news organizations reported the president signed the agreement after the Senate earlier in the day voted 74-20 to pass a House amendment that extends the current continuing resolution to […]