Budget & Policy

Finalized state legislation to financially support two nuclear power plants in Ohio failed to materialize by the Sunday deadline set by owner FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), the Columbus Dispatch reported. It was unknown Sunday whether FES would give state lawmakers more time to complete the bill or would now lock in plans to retire the facilities. […]

The California State Lands Commission on Friday 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 2019, […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the House’s version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Smith proposed prohibiting any DOE funding in the upcoming federal budget […]

By John Stang Legislation intended to help FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) keep two nuclear power plants financially afloat is in the late stages of consideration by the Ohio General Assembly. At the same time, FES has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve transfers of the licenses for its Ohio and Pennsylvania facilities to a newly […]

The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would authorize all the White House’s requested funding for nuclear modernization programs at the Department of Energy and the Pentagon. The Senate bill would provide a year of bipartisan support for the Donald Trump administration’s nuclear arsenal modernization plans, which […]

The House of Representatives will not debate its version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) until after the Fourth of July, but lawmakers have already proposed several pro- and anti-nuclear amendments to the annual defense policy bill. Lawmakers proposed their amendments Tuesday to the House Rules Committee. The panel plans to set […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the lower chamber’s version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House Armed Services Committee chairman proposed prohibiting any DOE […]

The U.S. Senate is set to vote today on its version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which would allow appropriators to provide the White House’s requested level of funding for nuclear-weapon modernization programs at the Department of Energy and the Pentagon. The bill also would authorize the roughly $5.5 billion requested for defense […]

Leaders in the Nevada county where the federal government wants to build a nuclear waste repository on Wednesday criticized several key elements of legislation aimed at resolving the longstanding impasse over management of the radioactive material. “The Nye County Commission remains in support of the proposition that the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding should be completed […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Smith proposed prohibiting any DOE funding in the upcoming 2020 federal budget year […]

The House of Representatives will not debate its version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) until after the Fourth of July, but lawmakers have already proposed several pro- and anti-nuclear amendments to the annual defense policy bill. Lawmakers proposed their amendments Tuesday to the House Rules Committee. The panel plans to set […]

The U.S. Senate is expected this week to act on its version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would permit more funding than the Trump administration requested for Department of Energy nuclear cleanup and as much money as requested for nuclear weapons programs. That is the sole bit of congressional action […]

The White House wants federal agencies including the Department of Energy to kill off some of their Federal Advisory Committees by September, according to a presidential order published recently. Federal Advisory Committees are nominally independent, government-chartered groups that provide advice to U.S. agencies. Either the president, Congress or agency heads can require an agency to […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee is eyeing a drastic overhaul at the U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), including limiting its members to a single consecutive term and bringing on an executive director to improve management. The measures, contained in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act approved by the committee in May and […]

The House of Representatives this week approved a fiscal 2020 minibus spending bill that would slow development of the next-generation, nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), bar deployment of a low-yield nuclear missile, and provide more money than sought to research the use of low-enriched uranium as fuel for the nuclear Navy. The bill went through […]

By John Stang More than eight months after she was first nominated, Rita Baranwal was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday to lead the Department of Energy’s nuclear power and waste activities. There was no discussion ahead of the 86-5 vote on the Senate floor. Opposing Baranwal’s confirmation as assistant energy secretary for nuclear […]

The Democrat-led House of Representatives on Wednesday further cemented its newfound rejection of funding licensing for a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. In a 226-203 vote, the House approved a nearly $1 trillion “minibus” appropriations bill that would fund the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, respectively the applicant and adjudicator for […]

A defense policy bill unveiled last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee would require the Department of Energy to report to Congress on its progress in closing radioactive waste storage tanks at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Idaho National Laboratory. The committee is also looking for a report from the […]

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed its first fiscal 2020 appropriations bill without any discussion of or changes to its $7.2 billion spending proposal for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office. After several days of debate, House members voted 226-203 in favor of a “minibus” appropriations bill that would fund the Energy Department, […]

The White House wants federal agencies including the Department of Energy to kill off some of their Federal Advisory Committees by September, according to a presidential order published June 14. Federal Advisory Committees are nominally independent, government-chartered groups that provide advice to U.S. agencies. Either the president or Congress can require an agency to create […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee is eyeing a drastic overhaul at the U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), including limiting its members to a single consecutive term and bringing on an executive director to improve management. The measures, contained in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act approved by the committee in May and […]

The House of Represenatives on Wednesday approved a fiscal 2020 spending bill that would provide more funding than requested by the White House to clean up nuclear weapons sites and less funding that requested for active weapons programs. The Democrat-led House approved the bill on an essentially party line vote of 226-203. The so-called minibus spending […]

The U.S. senators from New Mexico have proposed three amendments to a draft defense policy bill aimed at ensuring the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) can carry out its full health and safety mission. The amendments from Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich (both D-N.M.) would be added to the National Defense Authorization Act […]

The House on Wednesday approved a 2020 spending bill that would provide more funding that sought to clean up shuttered nuclear weapons sites, and less funding that requested for active weapons programs. The Democrat-led House approved the bill on an essentially party line vote of 226 to 203. The so-called minibus spending measure funds the […]

The House of Representatives late Tuesday struck down amendments to a multi-agency appropriations bill for fiscal 2020 would have wiped out a next-generation cruise missile and permitted the Navy to deploy a low-yield, nuclear-tipped ballistic missile. An amendment from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) to prohibit research on the Pentagon’s Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO) nuclear cruise missile […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee is eyeing major changes at the U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), including limiting its members to a single consecutive term and bringing on an executive director to improve management. The measures, contained in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act approved by the committee in May and released […]

The White House wants federal agencies including the Department of Energy to kill off one-third of their Federal Advisory Committees by September, according to a presidential order published Friday. Federal Advisory Committees are nominally independent, government-chartered groups that provide advice to federal agencies. Either the president or Congress can require an agency to create a […]

A defense policy bill unveiled last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee would require the Department of Energy to report to Congress on its progress in closing radioactive waste storage tanks at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Idaho National Laboratory. The committee is also looking for a report from the […]

The House Armed Services Committee early Thursday approved its version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act after about 18 hours of debate. The House committee’s annual defense policy bill, now headed to the House floor, authorizes about $15.8 billion for the active nuclear weapons programs managed by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security […]

The full House of Representatives will not consider several defense-nuclear amendments to a fiscal 2020 spending bill until next week. The House cleared the amendments for floor debate, but lawmakers spent much of Wednesday and all day Thursday discussing other aspects of the bill before adjourning. The chamber had no votes scheduled for Friday. Debate […]