Budget & Policy

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must bill $805.9 million to its licensees for operations in the current fiscal year, the large majority of its annual budget. The nuclear-industry regulator has a total budget authority of $940.1 million for fiscal 2017, under the omnibus appropriations budget signed into law on May 5, according to the NRC’s final […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must bill $805.9 million to its licensees for operations in the current fiscal year, the large majority of its annual budget. The nuclear-industry regulator has a total budget authority of $940.1 million for fiscal 2017, under the omnibus appropriations budget passed in May, according to the NRC’s final fee rule, published […]

A House subcommittee on Wednesday approved a fiscal 2018 spending bill that would hold the Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup budget roughly even with the current appropriation. That is about all that is known about the lower chamber’s plans for the department’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) for the fiscal year beginnng Oct. 1, as lawmakers will not […]

The House of Representatives’ version of the Department of Energy funding bill for fiscal 2018 would again defy the agency’s intention to kill its Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee on Wednesday approved its $37.56 billion spending legislation, which would provide $340 million for construction of the […]

South Carolina’s governor reiterated his concerns late last week about the federal government’s continued efforts to end the Savannah River Site’s MOX project, a local elected official said Monday. The 310-square-mile Department of Energy facility is primarily housed in Aiken County, S.C., near the state’s border with Georgia. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster was in Aiken on […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would get about $950 million in fiscal 2018 under one congressional spending plan: a roughly 5-percent year-over-year budget cut that still provides $30 million to review the Energy Department’s revived application to license Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a permanent nuclear waste repository. The proposed budget is part of a nearly […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday approved its version of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which would allow for $65 million for research and development of an intermediate-range missile in response to Russia’s breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The United States has determined that Russia has deployed a ground-launched cruise […]

Two of President Donald Trump’s picks to the Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners will wait one more day, until today, for the the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to vote on their nominations. Annie Caputo and David Wright are now up for a committee vote as part of a business meeting scheduled for noon Eastern time. The meeting […]

A House Appropriations panel on Wednesday approved a spending bill that would greatly increase the budget for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons branch and fund a restart of the agency’s application to license Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a nuclear waste site. The House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee approved the measure on a […]

Nuclear weapons programs would get the big boost the Donald Trump administration sought in 2018 and Cold War nuclear cleanup programs would get a little less than requested, if a draft spending bill released Tuesday by House appropriators becomes law. The bill, essentially a first draft that will undergo many changes before it reaches the […]

South Carolina’s governor reiterated his concerns late last week about the federal government’s continued efforts to end the Savannah River Site’s MOX project, a local elected official said Monday. The 310-square-mile Department of Energy facility is primarily housed in Aiken County, S.C., near the state’s border with Georgia. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster was in Aiken on […]

The House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee is scheduled Wednesday to mark up the bill that includes the fiscal 2018 budgets for the Energy Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The markup will be held in room 2362-B of the Rayburn House Office Building, according to a subcommittee notice. The Donald Trump administration proposed cutting […]

The House Armed Services Committee chairman’s mark of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act keeps the door open for sustaining the Department of Energy’s Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina – assuming Congress provides any money for the project. The 701-page document, released Monday by HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), says the energy […]

Lawmakers challenged Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday to commit to resolving the issues that are preventing Congress from taking a definitive stance on the future of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. Perry reaffirmed the Energy Department’s intentions on MOX during a House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee budget hearing, saying […]

Money for liquid waste processing and tank closures at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) would tick up if Congress approves funding levels proposed by President Donald Trump for fiscal 2018. All told, the budget proposal would provide $1.28 billion for the DOE facility in South Carolina, according to the detailed version of the budget […]

Been there, heard that, was the reaction from Washington state’s two U.S. senators as Energy Secretary Rick Perry defended budget cuts proposed in the administration’s fiscal 2018 request for the Hanford Site. Perry was in the hot seat for three days in succession this week, answering questions about proposed funding levels for cleanup at the […]

An article in the June 16 edition of Weapons Complex Monitor, “DOE Budget Plan Doubles Funding for WIPP Ventilation,” did not include the full fiscal 2018 Environmental Management funding request for the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge, Tenn., site. The total amount is $390.2 million.

The House Armed Services emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee is recommending full funding of the White House’s budget request for the Defense Department’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program. HASC subcommittees held their first markups this week of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, including consideration of provisions related to the U.S. nuclear arsenal and other […]

Lawmakers challenged Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday to commit to resolving the issues that are preventing Congress from taking a definitive stance on the future of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. Perry reaffirmed the Energy Department’s intentions on MOX during a House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee budget hearing, saying […]

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Wednesday she has heard the same message from new energy secretaries for 25 years – that they will find a new and better way to address environmental cleanup at the Hanford Site. The latest was Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who testified on his agency’s fiscal 2018 budget request before the […]

Lawmakers challenged Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday to commit resolving the issues that are preventing Congress from taking a definitive stance on the future of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. Perry reaffirmed the Energy Department’s stance on MOX during a House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee budget hearing, saying “there […]

The House Armed Services emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee is recommending full funding of the White House’s budget request for the Defense Department’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program. HASC subcommittees are holding their first markups this week of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, including consideration of provisions related to the U.S. nuclear arsenal and […]

Money for liquid waste processing and tank closures at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site would tick up if Congress approves funding levels proposed by President Donald Trump for fiscal 2018. All told, the budget proposal would provide $1.28 billion for the DOE facility in South Carolina, according to the detailed version of the budget request […]

The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee on Thursday will hold its first markup of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, led by panel Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Ranking Member Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.). The markup, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will consider provisions related to the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal and the Energy […]

The Department of Energy intends to more than double funding in fiscal 2018 for work on the new permanent ventilation system at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, according to the detailed budget justification released this week for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. Airflow at the transuranic waste storage mine was reduced drastically […]

The House Armed Services Committee has begun developing the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, but differences between Congress and the White House on defense spending levels might complicate the path toward a budget agreement. Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), respectively the committee chairman and ranking member, last week introduced the “by request” version of […]

The Department of Energy intends to more than double funding in fiscal 2018 for work on the new permanent ventilation system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, according to the detailed budget justification released this week for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. Airflow at the transuranic waste storage mine was reduced drastically […]

The three nominees for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission made it through their Senate nomination hearing Tuesday with no indication of serious obstacles to their confirmation. After postponing the hearing last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard from each of the nominees: current NRC Chair Kristine Svinicki and new prospective appointees Annie Caputo, a senior […]

The House Armed Services Committee has begun developing the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, but differences between Congress and the White House on defense spending levels might complicate the path toward a budget agreement. Representatives Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), respectively the committee chairman and ranking member, last week introduced the “by request” version of […]

After a delay last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Tuesday is set to consider the Trump administration’s three nominees to fill expiring posts at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee will consider the Donald Trump administration’s fiscal 2018 budget request for […]