Budget & Policy

After Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, the author of a bill to update U.S. nuclear waste laws and clear the way for the Energy Department to build the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in the state said he is in no rush to get the measure to the floor. “In light of the tragedy, […]

Proposed legislation could mean millions of dollars in relief for communities still housing spent reactor fuel at nuclear plants, according to two lawmakers from Illinois. The catalyst for the upcoming bill is the former Zion plant in Illinois, where used fuel remains in storage nearly two decades after the facility’s closure in 1998. “Zion and […]

The head of the nuclear industry’s lobbying arm on Tuesday urged the U.S. Senate to move quickly to confirm the three nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “This is a moment when Congress and the administration are rightly raising concerns relative to efficient and effective federal regulatory environments,” Nuclear Energy Institute CEO Maria Korsnick […]

The Government Accountability Office said the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) should draft tighter life-cycle cost and schedule estimates for its nonproliferation programs: something the Energy Department’s semiautonomous nuclear-weapon agency said is difficult to do, given the nature of the work. The NNSA should “require DNN [Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation] programs and subprograms to follow life-cycle […]

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is urging the state’s congressional delegation to continue advocating for the MOX project at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site, which is again in danger of being defunded. In a Sept. 14 letter, McMaster provided lawmakers with a recent report from the governor’s South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council (SCNAC), which […]

The leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wants the Government Accountability Office to examine whether the Energy Department’s contractor oversight practices are preventing company’s carrying out projects for the agency’s National Nuclear Security Administration from getting work done. The committee is worried that some of the agency’s “burdensome practices” might “limit the efficiency […]

Lawmakers are piling on to co-sponsor a House bill that would smooth the way to open Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a permanent nuclear waste repository. This week alone, 32 additional representatives associated themselves with Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 (H.R.3053): a 45-page bill officially introduced in the […]

The House of Representatives is calling for a “full overhaul” of the federal program that provides money to local communities near large Energy Department sites that cannot be taxed. That would include terminating all existing agreements, according to legislation passed in the House earlier this month. Given that localities cannot tax property owned by the […]

The federal government is likely to rack up tens of billions of dollars in liability over the Department of Energy’s decades-long failure to meet its legal mandate to build a permanent home for spent fuel from U.S. commercial power reactors, lawmakers and panelists said Tuesday during a congressional hearing on U.S. nuclear waste management. More […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily A key House member expressed confidence Sept. 26 that Congress will finish its work on the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill despite Capitol Hill gridlock on many issues. The optimism from Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC’s) strategic forces panel, came eight days after […]

Lawmakers are piling on to co-sponsor a House bill that would smooth the way to open Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a permanent nuclear waste repository. This week alone, 32 additional representatives associated themselves with Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 (H.R.3053): a 45-page bill officially introduced in the […]

So far this week, 16 more lawmakers have signed on to co-sponsor a bill that would smooth the way to open Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a permanent nuclear waste repository. That makes a total of 78 for Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 (H.R.3053): a 45-page bill […]

After an August visit fell through, Energy Secretary Rick Perry is expected to visit the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant cleanup site on Friday, several members of the Ohio congressional delegation announced Wednesday. Sen. Rob Portman (R), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), Rep. Bill Johnson (R) and Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R) issued a joint statement praising Perry […]

The federal government is likely to rack up tens of billions of dollars in liability over the Department of Energy’s decades-long failure to meet its legal mandate to build a permanent home for spent fuel from U.S. commercial power reactors, lawmakers and panelists said Tuesday during a congressional hearing on U.S. nuclear waste management. More […]

A key House member expressed confidence Sept. 26 that Congress will finish its work on the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill despite Capitol Hill gridlock on many issues. The optimism from Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC’s) strategic forces panel, came eight days after the Senate approved its […]

The House of Representatives is calling for a “full overhaul” of the federal program that provides money to local communities near large Energy Department sites that cannot be taxed. Given that localities cannot tax property owned by the U.S. government, Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs have served as a means to provide federal funding […]

The House Oversight interior, energy, and environment subcommittee will meet on Tuesday for a hearing to assess the management and storage of U.S. nuclear waste. The intention of the hearing is to consider management of what is now more than 76,000 metric tons of nuclear waste that remains in storage at nuclear plants across the nation […]

Officials from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce are headed to Washington, D.C., next week to visit with Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.): architect of a bill that would help clear the way for the federal government to turn Yucca Mountain in Nevada into a permanent storage facility for nuclear waste. The Las Vegas Chamber — like […]

The federal government is mishandling the MOX project through improper cost evaluations and ongoing attempts to abandon construction of the plutonium-conversion facility, according to a group that advises the governor of South Carolina on nuclear issues. The South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council (SCNAC) issued its report this month following a site visit to the MOX plant at […]

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of David Jonas to be Department of Energy general counsel by a 14-9 vote. The roll-call vote split almost entirely along party lines, with only Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) Angus King (I-Vt.) breaking ranks with the Democrats to support Jonas’ nomination. There […]

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of David Jonas to be Department of Energy general counsel by a 14-9 vote. The roll-call vote split almost entirely along party lines, with only Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) Angus King (I-Vt.) breaking ranks with the Democrats to support Jonas’ nomination. There […]

The Senate approved its version of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a 90-8 vote Monday, setting the stage for a conference with the House to iron out differences between the two chambers’ version of the annual military policy bill. The White House has said it opposes some of the bill’s provisions. The […]

The federal government is mishandling the MOX project through improper cost evaluations and ongoing attempts to abandon construction of the plutonium-conversion facility, according to a group that advises the governor of South Carolina on nuclear issues. The South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council (SCNAC) issued its report this month following a site visit to the MOX plant at […]

A recent change in how payments are allotted by the Department of Energy is sparking concerns among some of the top contractors carrying out large-scale cleanup projects across the agency’s nuclear complex. The issue was referenced, although not thoroughly explained, by speakers at this month’s DOE National Cleanup Workshop in Alexandria, Va. “[I]n the past […]

Officials from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce are headed to Washington, D.C., next week to visit with Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.): architect of a bill that would help clear the way for the federal government to turn Yucca Mountain in Nevada into a permanent storage facility for nuclear waste. The Las Vegas Chamber — like […]

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of David Jonas to be Department of Energy general counsel by a 14-9 vote. The roll-call vote split almost entirely along party lines, with only Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) Angus King (I-Vt.) breaking ranks with the Democrats to support Jonas’ nomination. There […]

Changes to the legal and regulatory framework for management of Energy Department nuclear waste could save $40 billion in costs for cleanup of the DOE nuclear complex and hasten the removal of that waste from local communities, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) said in a new report. “ECA understands this is a large change from […]

The Senate approved its version of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a 90-8 vote Monday, setting the stage for a conference with the House to iron out differences between the two chambers’ version of the annual military policy bill. The White House has said it opposes some of the bill’s provisions. The […]

A number of major policy questions must be addressed before the federal government drops the mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) project in South Carolina in favor of a “dilute and dispose” approach to disposal of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-grade plutonium, House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said Thursday. “There are a […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday Approved $790 million for nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs for 2018: a high-water mark for the State Department account that includes international nuclear nonproliferation efforts. The Senate recommendation is about 60 percent more than what the White House requested for the account in 2018 as part of a […]