Budget & Policy

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/2/2015 States that go beyond the carbon emissions reduction goals outlined in the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed “Clean Power Plan” regulations would be eligible to receive money from a $4 billion fund the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to create in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. The […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/2/2015 The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking a slight boost in funding for climate change and air quality programs in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. The request would provide approximately $1.1 billion for such programs, up slightly from current funding levels of $993 million.  “The FY 2016 […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/2/2015 Funding for carbon capture and storage research and development programs at the Department of Energy would see a significant increase next year under DOE’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. The request includes $117 million for carbon capture R&D, up $29 million from current funding levels; and $109 […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/2/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not seeking additional funding next year for the license review for the Yucca Mountain repository project, NRC Chief Financial Officer Maureen Wylie said today during a briefing on the Commission’s FY 2016 budget request. Following the completion of the Safety Evaluation Report, which found […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/2/2015 The Obama Administration is requesting $1.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2016 for the Ohio-Class Replacement program, a project that officials say the Navy plans to fund out of its own account from Fiscal Year 2016 to FY 2020, and that will take about two-thirds of the service’s shipbuilding budget if […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/2/2015 The Army Corps of Engineers is requesting $104 million for its formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) in Fiscal Year 2016, according to Corps budget documents released today. The request would marks a $2.5 million increase from the program’s total current funding level of $101.5 million, and a […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/2/2015 The Obama Administration was widely criticized last year by arms control and disarmament experts for seeking to cut the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nonproliferation budget, but the Administration is looking to now stabilize funding for the NNSA’s nonproliferation account in its Fiscal Year 2016 request, released today, asking for $1.94 […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/2/2015 The Obama Administration is requesting $345 million in Fiscal Year 2016 for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in what Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has called a “continuation” budget for the controversial project. The request, unveiled today, matches the amount of money Congress provided to keep […]

Proposed Budget Prioritizes Life Extension Program Work Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/2/2015 One year after delaying the cruise missile warhead life extension program, the Obama Administration is proposing to shift its approach in Fiscal Year 2016, accelerating work on the refurbishment effort and providing a significant funding boost for the program. The program, renamed the […]

Here’s a look at the other events we’ll be following this week: From noon to 1:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 3, retired Gen. Robert Kehler, former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, will speak at Stanford University about the enduring role of U.S. nuclear weapons. At 9:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 4, Ashton Carter […]

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) plans to speak this week at the Nuclear Energy Institute to discuss his vision for the future of nuclear energy. His remarks will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday Feb. 5, 2015 at the Clean Air Conference Center located at 1201 F Street,N.W. […]

Four months after Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said the estimated $100 billion Ohio-Class Replacement could “gut” the service’s shipbuilding budget, a senior budget analyst on Friday told reporters the program and its Sea-Based Deterrence fund could siphon money from other branches of the military as well. “[J]ust because you reclassify the budget account, it doesn’t get […]

The Obama Administration later today will request $8.8 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program in Fiscal Year 2016, accelerating funding for key modernization efforts like the cruise missile warhead, W88 Alt 370 and Uranium Processing Facility, NS&D Monitor has learned. The $677 million increase from FY 2015 enacted funding levels is also […]

The refurbishment of the cruise missile warhead for the Air Force’s new Long-Range Standoff weapon is expected to be the recipient of a significant increase in requested funding when President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget is unveiled today, bucking a request made last week by a group of nonproliferation and arms control experts to cancel […]

The Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request set for release later today is expected to come in at $5.82 billion for the Office of Environmental Management, with significant budget boosts for the Office of River Protection and Savannah River Site and most other sites seeing cuts, WC Monitor has learned. The FY16 request […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 The Obama Administration is set to ask for a significant Fiscal Year 2016 budget increase for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program and relatively flat funding for its nonproliferation account, weapons complex observers and Congressional aides told NS&D Monitor this week. The Administration will unveil its FY 2016 budget […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 Amidst a crippling budget environment, the Navy will support its No. 1 priority, the Ohio-Class Replacement nuclear submarine and plans to spend $5 billion from Fiscal Years 2017 to 2020 in advanced procurement funding for the first submarine, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, told the Senate Armed Services […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 While much progress has been made to develop and deploy the technologies needed for a transition to a cleaner energy system in the United States, more work is needed, new Under Secretary of Energy for Science and Energy Lynn Orr said this week. “The energy system is so big […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 The treatment of coal amid growing concern over climate change is problematic for the advancement of carbon capture and storage technology, industry experts said during this week’s National Conference and Global Forum on Science, Policy and Environment. Experts noted perception issues that could hinder the technology’s advancement, such as […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 While progress has been made towards the full deployment of carbon capture and storage technology in the United States, the Department of Energy is not where it needs to be to support full-scale deployment of the technology, according to a National Coal Council report released this week. The NCC, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 Due in part to a large potential for carbon storage in the North Sea, surrounding countries are physically ideal to lead the European Union in deployment of the technology, however, early progress has slowed due to economic decline and complex policy issues, according to a new report released this […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 Like the Navy, the Air Force has a large nuclear modernization bill looming, and the idea of a separate deterrence fund for upgrading the air legs of the nuclear triad is gaining traction, according to Global Strike Command chief Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson. The Navy has proposed a sea-based deterrence […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 The Congressional Long-Range Strike Caucus gathered on Capitol Hill on Jan. 27 to rally support for modernization of the B-52, B-2, and B-1 bombers, and for manufacturing the Long-Range Strike Bomber as Air Force experts have recently suggested that the Future Years Defense Plan indicates the LRSB is reaching the […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 The Environmental Protection Agency has identified several key areas within its proposed carbon emission regulations for existing coal-fired power plants that remain a concern for many states, Reid Harvey, Director of the Clean Air Markets Division with the EPA, said during the National Conference and Global Forum on Science, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory announced this week the availability of a total of approximately $43 million in funding for lab- and bench-scale pre- and post-combustion carbon capture technologies. The funding includes $28 million for post-combustion carbon capture technology and $15 million for pre-combustion. “The […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/30/2015 The lifecycle cost estimate for the Department of Energy’s cleanup mission at the Savannah River Site has been extended 23 years and increased in cost by $25.2 billion due to declining budgets and the lack of a national repository for spent fuel and high-level waste, DOE officials said this week. […]

WC Monitor 1/30/2015 IN CONGRESS There will be a major shakeup on the staff of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee with two of the top staffers on the panel leaving Capitol Hill for lobbying jobs. WC  Monitor has learned that Senate Majority Clerk Tom Craig and Senate Minority Staffer Leland Cogliani are leaving […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 The European Union is lagging behind when it comes to the deployment of carbon capture and storage, according to a new report commissioned by the European Commission to assess the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Directive published this week. However, the report suggests several measures, including the adoption of […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 The Environmental Protection Agency remains undaunted by threats from Congress to attempt to block the agency’s proposed carbon emissions regulation for existing coal-fired power plants, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said this week during the National Conference and Global Forum on Science, Policy and Environment. “We are using authority that […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, highlighted this week the importance of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emissions standards for new and existing coal-fired power plants to meeting the goals of the […]