Budget & Policy

The Senate Appropriations Committee is working on a framework for a stopgap funding resolution to keep the federal government through Dec. 11 and the full Senate was expected to vote on it before adjourning Friday.  The government’s fiscal year is scheduled to end on Sept. 30. Unless a bill codifies that funding is rolled over […]

Tom Stiehle, HII’s chief financial officer, said in Huntington Ingalls Industries’ second quarter earnings call the company had done “the initial start of the design work for the [Trump-class] battleship [BBG(X)] as well on a limited basis with support and cooperation with the Navy.”  In May, Jason Potter, then-performing the duties of assistant Navy secretary […]

A Republican member of the Yakima County Commission and a Democrat who is a retired Air Force major who once worked at the Hanford Site were the top two finishers in Washington state’s open primary for the 4th congressional district. As a result, Amanda McKinney (R) and John Duresky (D) will go head-to-head in the […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee is working on a framework for a stopgap funding resolution to keep the federal government through Dec. 11. The government’s fiscal year is scheduled to end on Sept. 30. Unless a bill codifies that funding is rolled over into the next fiscal year up to a certain date, the government will […]

Republican Kay Granger, who represented the Texas 12th Congressional district and chaired the House Appropriations Committee, has died at age 83, according to news reports from various media outlets Monday morning. Granger, who before retiring served in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than a quarter century, was the first Texas Republican woman elected […]

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” as a result of a car crash on her way to church, according to a statement released by her office Sunday morning. News reports, such as the one on Cleveland.com said the wreck resulted from a hit-and-run by a driver who fled the scene. Cleveland.com said Kaptur was […]

The Donald Trump White House has drafted a memo to Congress, pushing for legislation to remove Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the sole site for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The 1987 amendments of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act established Yucca Mountain as the sole repository for high-level waste. However, plans for Yucca were […]

Washington state’s open primary Aug. 4 will decide what two candidates will be on the November ballot to succeed Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) to represent the 4th congressional district, which includes the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. There are 11 candidates running for the office that Newhouse is vacating in January, according to the Spokesman-Review […]

The Donald Trump White House has drafted a memo to Congress, pushing for legislation to remove Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the sole site for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The 1987 amendments of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act established Yucca Mountain as the sole repository for high-level waste. However, plans for Yucca were […]

Washington state’s open primary Aug.4 will decide what two candidates will be on the November ballot to succeed Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) to represent the 4th congressional district, which includes the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. There are 11 candidates running for the office that Newhouse is vacating in January, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper. […]

Legislation introduced this week in the House Science, Space and Technology Committee would direct the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) nuclear evaluation program. The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) and is cosponsored by Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). The Advanced Artificial Intelligence Nuclear Evaluation Program […]

The White House on July 22 announced plans to invest $5 billion into its new Genesis Mission initiative to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for science-related efforts.  “America has no shortage of bold ideas or talented scientists, and the response to the Genesis Mission proves that,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the White House release, […]

Legislation introduced this week in the House Science, Space and Technology Committee would direct the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) nuclear evaluation program. The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) and is cosponsored by Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). The Advanced Artificial Intelligence Nuclear Evaluation Program […]

The White House on July 22 announced plans to invest $5 billion into its new Genesis Mission initiative to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for science-related efforts.  “America has no shortage of bold ideas or talented scientists, and the response to the Genesis Mission proves that,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the White House statement, […]

Washington state’s open primary Aug.4 will decide what two candidates will be on the November ballot to succeed Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) to represent the 4th congressional district, which includes the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. There are 11 candidates running for the office that Newhouse is vacating in January, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper. […]

The Donald Trump White House has drafted a memo to Congress, pushing for legislation to remove Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the sole site for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The 1987 amendments of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act established Yucca Mountain as the sole repository for high-level waste. However, plans for Yucca were […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this week denied a challenge brought by Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) process for reviewing reactor license renewals. “Petitioners argue that the commission did not adequately consider how aging components and climate change affect the risk of […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced plans Thursday for two new supercomputers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Mission and Vision supercomputers will be built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and powered by the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform, NNSA said in a press release.  The Mission and Vision […]

After two days of debate, the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House floor mainly on party lines at 216-212. The defense policy bill, which also sets spending caps for certain defense-related appropriations, would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration […]

After two days of debate, the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House floor this week mainly on party lines at 216-212. The defense policy bill, which also sets spending caps for the appropriations bills, would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear […]

For now at least, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has suspended publication of many of the congressional watchdog’s routine reports on safety and operations at Department of Energy nuclear sites.   “The DNFSB is not currently posting technical documents, such as resident inspector weekly, site monthly and other technical reports, while the board works […]

After two days of debate, the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House floor mainly on party lines at 216-212. The defense policy bill, which also sets spending caps for the appropriations bills, would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration […]

For now at least, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has suspended publication of many of the congressional watchdog’s routine reports on safety and operations at Department of Energy nuclear sites.   “The DNFSB is not currently posting technical documents, such as resident inspector weekly, site monthly and other technical reports, while the board works […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Materials that used to be considered purely radioactive waste are increasingly being recycled into usable products for everything from medical treatments to advanced nuclear reactors, federal officials said last week. That was the word July 15 from the Department of Energy’s Under-Secretary for Science Dario Gil along with DOE Environmental Management (EM) […]

After two days of debate, the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House floor mainly on party lines at 216-212. The defense policy bill, which also sets spending caps for the appropriations bills, would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration […]

The White House said in a July 16 statement that it “strongly supports the immediate passage” of the House of Representatives budget resolution for a third reconciliation bill, which includes $60 billion for defense.  “This budget resolution is a crucial first step in allowing congressional Republicans to quickly pass a budget reconciliation bill that protects […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Materials that used to be considered purely radioactive waste are increasingly being recycled into usable products for everything from medical treatments to advanced nuclear reactors, federal officials said last week. That was the word July 15 from the Department of Energy’s Under-Secretary for Science Dario Gil along with DOE Environmental Management (EM) […]

For now at least, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has suspended publication of many of the congressional watchdog’s routine reports on safety and operations at Department of Energy nuclear sites.   “The DNFSB is not currently posting technical documents, such as resident inspector weekly, site monthly and other technical reports, while the board works […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) cranked out reports this week on the Department of Energy nuclear complex. Here is a glimpse at two of the congressional watchdog’s latest reports: A report on streamlining project management at national labs and nuclear sites was made public Thursday. DOE and its semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) oversees […]

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee who oversees Savannah River Site in his state, died suddenly Saturday, Graham’s office said Sunday. “On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” Graham’s office said in a statement early […]