Budget & Policy

The Senate Armed Services Committee announced will this question Strategic Command Commander and Air Force Gen. John Hyten as the nominee to become the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The confirmation hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday in Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G50. The committee has been conducting a series […]

The Donald Trump administration could already be planning for a new permanent head for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office. While Energy Department senior adviser William (Ike) White is apt to stay in charge of the Office of Environmental Management for a number months, names of potential successors to Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Anne […]

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a two-year, $2.7 trillion budget agreement on a 284-149 vote, a move that would allow the federal government to keep borrowing money. The new federal budget caps deal provides $2.5 billion more in base defense spending than the 2020 budget the House of Representatives has already approved. The […]

By John Stang Wyoming legislative leaders voted earlier this month to explore whether the state should host a consolidated interim storage site for used nuclear reactor fuel — similar to projects underway in New Mexico and Texas. The unannounced 7-6 email vote on July 8 by the state legislature’s management council paved the way for […]

The new federal budget caps deal provides $2.5 billion more in base defense spending than the 2020 budget the House of Representatives has already approved, and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) would need a 25% share of the extra funding to reach its preferred nuclear-weapon budget. To get the money, the semiautonomous Department of […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions will keep its two Ohio reactors open after the state this week approved a $150 million annual boost to the financially struggling company. After months of debate and revisions to the bill in the Ohio Legislature, it was sent to Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for a quick signature on Tuesday. […]

FirstEnergy Solutions will keep its two Ohio reactors open after the state this week approved a $150 million annual boost to the financially struggling company. The Akron-based power provider announced Wednesday afternoon it would halt preparations for deactivating the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor and the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry. Without the […]

The new federal budget caps deal provides $2.5 billion more in base defense spending than the 2020 budget the House of Representatives has already approved, and the National Nuclear Security Administration would need a 25% share of the extra funding to reach its preferred nuclear-weapon budget. To get the money, the semiautonomous Department of Energy […]

The Ohio state government on Tuesday approved a $150 million annual bailout for FirstEnergy Solutions’ two nuclear power plants in the state. The Ohio House of Representatives voted 51-38 to approve its bill following recent modifications by the state Senate. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) then quickly signed the measure into law. The bill translates […]

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said Thursday that negotiators from the White House, Senate, and House are close to “sealing a deal” to avoid triggering automatic spending cuts in fiscal 2020. “We hear that tremendous progress has been made and they have agreed basically in principle,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. However, […]

A bill to reauthorize the Department of Energy’s West Valley Demonstration Project Act was reported out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a voice vote Tuesday. The measure was passed in a bloc of 20 bills considered at once by the panel, including committee Chair Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) Nuclear Energy Leadership Act. […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) on Wednesday came closer to securing passage of a sought-after bailout bill for two struggling nuclear power plants in Ohio. But potential full approval of the state legislation is not expected until Aug. 1, which would be two weeks after the company’s Wednesday deadline. The Ohio legislature adjourned for […]

FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) on Wednesday came closer to securing passage of a sought-after bailout bill for two struggling nuclear power plants in Ohio. But potential full passage of the state legislation is not expected until Aug. 1 at the earliest, which would be two weeks after the company’s Wednesday deadline. On Wednesday, the Ohio Senate […]

A bill to reauthorize the Department of Energy’s West Valley Demonstration Project Act was reported out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a voice vote Tuesday. The measure was passed in a bloc of 20 bills considered at once by the panel, including committee Chair Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) Nuclear Energy Leadership Act. […]

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved an amendment to the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that would prevent the Department of Energy from applying any “reclassification” of high-level radioactive waste to material held in Washington state. The measure from Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) was approved by voice vote as part of a package […]

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved an amendment to the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that would prevent the Department of Energy from applying any “reclassification” of high-level radioactive waste to material held in Washington state. The measure from Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) was approved by voice vote as part of a package […]

The House of Representatives on Friday passed its 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), after bipartisan blocks of lawmakers rejected further restrictions to the W80-4 nuclear warhead life-extension program and development of next-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles. On a more partisan basis, lawmakers voted 201-221 against an amendment from Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) that would have […]

A bill to reauthorize the Energy Department’s continued nuclear cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state drew scant attention Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources energy subcommittee. The measure was one of 11 bills for consideration and testimony at the one-hour morning legislative hearing. Subcommittee Chairman […]

By John Stang U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is working on a legislative measure to require state and local consent before the federal government can proceed with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in her state. This legislation would be an amendment to the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2019, said Robert Halstead, executive director […]

Rita Baranwal was formally sworn in Thursday as assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the Department of Energy. The materials engineer and nuclear industry veteran had already started work, including receiving internal briefings, prior to her ceremonial swearing-in by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, according to an industry source. “I am excited and privileged to continue […]

Rita Baranwal is scheduled to be sworn in Thursday as assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the Department of Energy. Energy Secretary Rick Perry will handle the swearing-in ceremony, a DOE official said. An industry source said Baranwal has already started work, including receiving internal briefings. The Senate confirmed Baranwal on June 20, just over […]

A bill to reauthorize the Energy Department’s continued nuclear cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state drew scant attention Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources energy subcommittee. The measure was one of 11 bills for consideration and testimony at the one-hour morning legislative hearing. Subcommittee Chairman […]

The House Rules Committee late Tuesday approved floor debate for 11 nuclear-related amendments to the lower chamber’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2020. The committee is scheduled to meet again today at 3 p.m. Eastern time, so further nuclear amendments — lawmakers proposed some 25 for the House NDAA — could still be […]

The House Rules Committee is scheduled today to begin setting the terms of debate for its fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — a process that will determine which of the 25 nuclear and nuclear-adjacent amendments proposed to the bill will actually make it to the floor later this week. Casting a shadow over the rules […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s energy subcommittee is scheduled next Tuesday to consider legislation to reauthorize Energy Department cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York. The West Valley Reauthorization Act, H.R. 1138, passed the full House of Representatives by voice vote on March 5. The legislation from Rep. Tom Reed […]

The California State Lands Commission on June 28 voted unanimously to approve a resolution to support two pieces of federal legislation that would prioritize removing used reactor fuel from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). None of the three commissioners commented on the resolution. The bills are the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions said Monday it would reconsider plans to close two nuclear power plants if the Ohio legislature by July 17 passes a bill that that would create a state subsidy for the bankrupt corporation. The bill is controversial because all of the state’s ratepayers —regardless of whether they are served by […]

The U.S. Senate’s recently passed version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act calls for nine reports or briefings on Department of Energy nuclear weapon programs. Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor has listed each of them below, in the order in which they appear in the bill. None of these reports are required yet. […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s energy subcommittee is scheduled next Tuesday to consider legislation to reauthorize Energy Department cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York. The West Valley Reauthorization Act, H.R. 1138, passed the full House of Representatives by voice vote on March 5. The legislation from Rep. Tom Reed […]

FirstEnergy Solutions said Monday it would reconsider closing two nuclear power plants if the Ohio legislature by July 17 passes a bill that would raise electricity rates in the state to provide financial assistance for those facilities and two coal-fired plants. The Akron-based power provider’s previous deadline was Sunday, which went by with the rate-increase […]