Budget & Policy

The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 energy funding bill directs the National Nuclear Security Administration to address various legal and diplomatic hurdles in its proposed alternative plutonium disposition method before Congress considers funding the new approach and abandoning the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction in South Carolina. The House version of the energy and […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday advanced a $37.6 billion energy and water funding bill that would give the Nuclear Regulatory Commission slightly more money than it requested for fiscal 2018. The appropriations legislation passed on a voice vote following a markup session that featured no discussion of the nuclear industry regulator. The full House […]

The White House is considering Alan Parker, who now leads one of the Energy Department’s nuclear-cleanup contractors, to head the agency’s entire remediation of its Cold War legacy as assistant secretary of energy for environmental management (EM), a source said Thursday. Parker is currently president and project manager for Mid-America Conversion Services: a new Atkins-led contracting […]

Mark Gilbertson has replaced Frank Marcinowski as the top policy and regulatory affairs official in the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), according to official agency correspondence reviewed by Weapons Complex Monitor. A DOE spokesperson in Washington confirmed Wednesday that Gilbertson is EM’s current acting associate principal deputy assistant secretary for regulatory and […]

House lawmakers this week approved a fiscal 2018 energy and water budget that would give the the Department of Energy about $30 billion and add three new cleanup projects to DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. The House Appropriations Committee agreed by voice vote Wednesday, with a few Democrat dissenters, to send the nearly $38 billion 2018 […]

Members of the House of Representatives have thrown early support in the latest budget process behind sustaining funding for the MOX project at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, but their colleagues in the Senate are so far silent on whether they will also again back the controversial program. The House version of the fiscal 2018 […]

Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee this week approved a fiscal 2018 energy budget that “fully supports” the Department of Energy’s plan to create a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada — though in a slightly different way than the White House imagined. “The Committee fully supports the Administration’s position to move […]

By Wayne Barber The Trump administration’s remaining two nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were approved Wednesday, with significant Democratic resistance, by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. David Wright, an energy consultant and former head of the South Carolina Public Service Commission and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, squeaked by […]

Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee this week approved a fiscal 2018 energy budget that “fully supports” the Department of Energy’s plan to create a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada — though in a slightly different way than the White House imagined. “The Committee fully supports the Administration’s position to move forward […]

Dan Parsons Defense Daily Efforts to slow modernization of the nuclear triad until the Defense Department completes a comprehensive study of the programs’ total cost largely failed to make it into the House version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which was approved Friday in a 344-81 vote. An amendment to the law that […]

The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 energy and water appropriations bill calls on the National Nuclear Security Administration to address lingering cost and schedule concerns in its modernization and infrastructure programs as it boosts agency funding by nearly $1 billion. The legislation, which on Wednesday passed the chamber’s Appropriations Committee and will next be considered […]

The House of Representatives is moving forward with plans to direct the Defense Department to begin work on an intermediate-range ground-launched missile despite pushback from the White House, striking amendments opposing the move from the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act it passed today in a 344-81 vote. The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee […]

The House Appropriations Committee released Wednesday its fiscal 2018 funding bill for the State Department, featuring a more modest cut than the 30 percent decrease the administration proposed in its May budget request. The bill provides $47.4 billion for the State Department in discretionary and Overseas Contingency Operations funding, a $10 billion drop from its currently […]

Members of the House of Representatives have thrown early support in the latest budget process behind sustaining funding for the MOX project at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, but their colleagues in the Senate are so far silent on whether they will also again back the controversial program. The House version of the fiscal 2018 […]

The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 energy funding bill directs the National Nuclear Security Administration to address various legal and diplomatic hurdles in its proposed alternative plutonium disposition method before Congress considers funding the new approach and abandoning the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction in South Carolina. The House version of the energy and […]

The White House’s pick to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration will meet next week with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who might still be pursuing other candidates for the job, sources told NS&D Monitor this week. Sources said late last month that Lisa Gordon-Hagerty is the White House’s choice to replace Obama administration holdover Frank […]

Despite reservations from at least one lawmaker, there was no move to cut funding for the Department of Energy’s controversial MOX facility Wednesday as the House Appropriations Committee advanced its fiscal 2018 energy and water funding bill to the full House for consideration. The appropriations legislation would grant $10.2 billion for weapons activities at the Department of Energy’s […]

The House Appropriations Committee released Wednesday its fiscal 2018 funding bill for the State Department, featuring a more modest cut than the 30 percent decrease the administration proposed in its May budget request. The bill provides $47.4 billion for the State Department in discretionary and Overseas Contingency Operations funding, a $10 billion drop from its currently […]

Lawmakers debated nuclear-weapon-related amendments to the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act Wednesday evening on the House floor, postponing votes for some contentious proposals and adopting one to prohibit funding for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. The House Rules Committee approved this week for floor debate 88 of roughly 400 amendments filed on […]

House lawmakers on Wednesday approved a fiscal 2018 energy and water budget that would give the the Department of Energy about $30 billion, including new cleanup work for the agency’s Office of Environmental Management. The House Appropriations Committee voted by a voice vote, with a few Democrat dissenters, to send the nearly $38 billion 2018 Energy and Water Development […]

The Trump administration’s remaining two nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were approved Wednesday, with significant Democratic resistance, by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. David Wright, an energy consultant and former head of the South Carolina Public Service Commission and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, squeaked by on an 11-10 […]

Mark Gilbertson has replaced Frank Marcinowski as the top policy and regulatory affairs official in the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), according to an official agency correspondence reviewed by Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. A DOE spokesperson in Washington confirmed Wednesday that Gilbertson is EM’s current acting associate principal deputy assistant secretary for regulatory and […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) would start cleaning up three facilities no longer needed for nuclear research or weapons work under a fiscal 2018 spending bill the House Appropriations Committee plans to mark up today. The House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee’s bill would provide $75 million for EM to start […]

The House of Representatives’ $37.6 billion energy and water appropriations bill would give the Nuclear Regulatory Commission slightly more funding than it requested in its latest budget, according to the detailed legislative report released Tuesday. The document was posted one day ahead of the House Appropriations Committee markup of the funding legislation. The committee recommendation […]

The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 energy funding bill directs the National Nuclear Security Administration to address various legal and diplomatic hurdles in its proposed alternative plutonium disposition method before Congress considers funding the new approach and abandoning the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction in South Carolina. The House version of the energy and […]

Members of the House of Representatives have thrown early support in the latest budget process behind sustaining funding for the MOX project at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, but their colleagues in the Senate are so far silent on whether they will also again back the program. The House version of the fiscal 2018 DOE […]

Amendments to the House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act cover a wide range of concerns over nuclear modernization costs, the size and scope of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and the status of arms control agreements with Russia. One of the nearly 400 amendments submitted to the House version of the bill, for […]

The full House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday is scheduled to mark up a fiscal 2018 spending bill that would give the Energy Department about $30 billion, including a big boost for nuclear weapons funding, and provide $120 million for the agency to license Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a permanent disposal site for nuclear […]

The full House is expected to consider the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill (H.R. 2810) late in the week of July 10 to 14. House members have submitted hundreds of potential amendments to the House Rules Committee, which will sift through them and decide which can be debated on the House floor. Among them is […]

After twice delaying the vote, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is set Wednesday to consider President Donald Trump’s appointments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Annie Caputo and David Wright Caputo and Wright both sailed through their confirmation hearings in June. If they are confirmed by the committee and then the full Senate, the NRC would […]