Budget & Policy

The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled an Oct. 16 confirmation hearing fro William Bookless, the Donald Trump administration’s nominee to be second-in-command at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The hearing is a central step to installing Bookless as principal deputy administrator at the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory senior physicist was nominated in August. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in August spent $5,892 from its remaining Nuclear Waste Fund balance, with some of it going to costs for a federal legal petition against one of the commissioners. The agency after that spending had $443,310 remaining in unexpended, unobligated money from the fund intended to pay for development of the […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management will within a few days formally propose to change the way it interprets the term “high-level radioactive waste” (HLW). A Federal Register notice, expected to be posted next week, will outline DOE’s plan to classify high-level waste more on its radioactive characteristics and less on its source […]

The White House this week officially nominated Bruce Hamilton to take over as the full-time chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board: an independent federal nuclear health-and-safety watchdog he has led on an acting basis since February. The Donald Trump administration nominated Hamilton with around a month of legislative days left on the Senate’s […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management will within a few days formally propose to change the way it interprets the term “high-level radioactive waste” (HLW). A Federal Register notice, expected to be posted next week, will outline DOE’s plan to classify high-level waste more on its radioactive characteristics and less on its source […]

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced its intention to nominate a veteran of the nuclear industry as the new assistant secretary to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Rita Baranwal’s new job, upon confirmation, would put her in charge of the department’s work on nuclear reactors and nuclear waste – including the […]

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced its intention to nominate a veteran of the nuclear industry as the new assistant secretary to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. There was no immediate word on when Rita Baranwal would be formally nominated. The White House and Baranwal did not respond to requests for […]

The White House has selected its choice to head the Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy, but won’t submit the nomination to the Senate until after the midterm elections on Nov. 6, an industry source said Tuesday. The source said he had not learned the anticipated nominee’s identity, but was told by DOE officials it […]

The Donald Trump nomination has officially nominated Jeffrey Eberhardt, a career senior executive service official now serving in the State Department’s arms control bureau, as special representative of the president for nonproliferation, with the rank of ambassador. The White House sent Eberhardt’s nomination to the Senate late last week. If approved by the Foreign Relations […]

The House Armed Services Committee so far does not plan a hearing on a Democrat-sponsored bill to ban development of a low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead, the panel’s chairman said Tuesday. In a press gaggle with Capitol Hill reporters, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said the House would recess after this week until the Nov. 6 midterm […]

President Donald Trump plans to appoint Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) acting Chairman Bruce Hamilton to the top position on a permanent basis, the White House said Tuesday. Hamilton, a Navy veteran who spent decades in the nuclear energy industry, joined the board in August 2015 and was elevated to vice chairman last year […]

President Donald Trump on Friday signed fiscal 2019 appropriations legislation that would provide full-year funding for the Department of Defense, with a plus-up for its nuclear missile programs. Trump signed the measure days after the House of Representatives passed it by a vote of 361-61, following Senate approval last week. Trump signed the bill despite […]

When President Donald Trump signed a multiagency appropriations package Sept. 21, it assured the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management about $7.2 billion in funding for the 2019 fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The DOE-funding “minibus,” approved by Congress earlier this month, provides the largest budget for the department’s nuclear cleanup office since it received […]

President Donald Trump plans to appoint Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) acting Chairman Bruce Hamilton to the top position on a permanent basis, the White House said this week. Hamilton, a Navy veteran who spent decades in the nuclear energy industry, joined the board in August 2015 and was elevated to vice chairman in […]

President Donald Trump on Sept. 21 signed the first congressionally approved “minibus” appropriations bill for fiscal 2019, which cuts out all proposed funding at the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission for licensing a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The White House made no mention of the matter in statements on […]

President Donald Trump plans to appoint Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) acting Chairman Bruce Hamilton to the top position on a permanent basis, the White House said Tuesday. Hamilton, a Navy veteran who spent decades in the nuclear energy industry, joined the board in August 2015 and was elevated to vice chairman in the […]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved fiscal 2019 appropriations legislation that would provide full-year funding for the Department of Defense, with a plus-up for its nuclear missile programs. The 361-61 vote, following Senate approval last week, sends the $855 billion legislation to President Donald Trump for signing. While Trump has complained about […]

The House of Representatives passed in voice vote Tuesday a bill to reauthorize the Department of Energy’s West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state, legislation approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July. The amended version of the bill would immediately hike cleanup funding to $75 million annually through fiscal 2028 and […]

The House Armed Services Committee so far does not plan a hearing on a Democrat-sponsored bill to ban development of an low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead, the panel’s chairman said Tuesday. In a press gaggle with Capitol Hill reporters, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said the House would recess after this week until the Nov. 6 midterm […]

President Donald Trump on Friday signed the first congressionally approved “minibus” appropriations bill for fiscal 2019, which cuts out all proposed funding at the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission for licensing a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The White House made no mention of the matter in statements on the […]

When President Trump signed a multiagency appropriations package Friday afternoon, it assured the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management about $7.2 billion in funding for the 2019 fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The DOE-funding “minibus,” approved by Congress earlier this month, provides the largest budget for the department’s nuclear cleanup office since it received almost […]

The Defense Department’s fiscal 2019 budget is a step closer to President Donald Trump’s desk, after the Senate on Tuesday voted 93-7 in favor of an appropriations bill that funds the Pentagon for the full year and keeps most other federal agencies going at 2018 spending levels through Dec. 7. The Department of Energy is […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will get its full-year appropriation on time for the 2019 fiscal year, after President Donald Trump on Friday signed a multi-agency appropriations act that includes more than $15 billion for the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency. Overall, the NNNSA will get a roughly 4-percent year-over-year raise for […]

Democrats in the House and Senate on Tuesday unveiled legislative language that would ban research, development, manufacturing, and fielding of the planned low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic-missile warhead for which Congress and the White House approved $65 million in funding during the fiscal year that begins in 13 days. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) sponsored the House bill, with co-sponsors Reps. […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) will hold two more public hearings about a controversial Department of Energy order the independent nuclear health-and-safety watchdog said would prevent it from exercising its lawful authority to inspect nuclear weapons sites. Acting DNFSB Chairman Bruce Hamilton mentioned the meetings in a Sept. 17 letter to Energy Secretary Rick […]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Charles Verdon to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons portfolio as deputy administrator for defense programs. Verdon, most recently principal associate director at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Weapons and Complex Integration Directorate, got the thumbs-up nearly seven months after President Donald Trump nominated him for the top NNSA weapons post. […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) will hold two more public hearings about a controversial Department of Energy order the independent nuclear health-and-safety watchdog said would prevent it from exercising its lawful authority to inspect nuclear weapons sites. Acting DNFSB Chairman Bruce Hamilton mentioned the meetings in a Sept. 17 letter to Energy Secretary Rick […]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Charles Verdon to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons portfolio as deputy administrator for defense programs. Verdon, most recently principal associate director at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Weapons and Complex Integration Directorate, got the thumbs-up nearly seven months after President Donald Trump nominated him for the top NNSA weapons post. […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) will hold two more public hearings about a controversial Department of Energy order the independent nuclear health-and-safety watchdog said would prevent it from exercising its lawful authority to inspect nuclear weapons sites. Acting DNFSB Chairman Bruce Hamilton mentioned the meetings in a Sept. 17 letter to Energy Secretary […]

The Defense Department’s fiscal 2019 budget is a step closer to President Donald Trump’s desk, after the Senate on Tuesday voted 93-7 in favor of an appropriations bill that funds the Pentagon for the full year and keeps other federal agencies going through Dec. 7. The final DOD appropriations bill still must be approved by […]