Budget & Policy

Matthew Marzano, President Joe Biden’s (D) third and final Democratic appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was sworn in Tuesday, the agency said. The civilian regulator for nuclear power and nuclear waste announced the ceremony in a press release. Marzano was narrowly confirmed by the 118th Congress’ Democratic Senate majority. He survived an intense pressure […]

A Tennessee congressman will lead the subcommittee with oversight of U.S. nuclear forces in the 119th Congress, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said on Tuesday. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) chair of the House Armed Services Committee in the new Congress, announced the new appointments in a press release. Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) […]

The 118th Congress ended Friday Jan. 3 without the Senate voting to confirm President Joe Biden’s nomination of William (Ike) White, to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. So the nomination of White, a longtime fed and former acting head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch, was returned to the president that day […]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine seeks submissions for experts to serve on its Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, the body said Monday. The deadline to submit a nomination is Feb. 2, according to a press release. The Board is seeking four new members with expertise in nuclear engineering and fuel cycle, nuclear […]

Senate Democrats on Thursday announced their rosters for the Armed Services Committee with newly-elected Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) joining the panel. Slotkin, a former U.S. representative and Pentagon official, is taking the Armed Services spot held last Congress by Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who did not run for reelection. The panel writes the annual National […]

The University of Texas at San Antonio has won a $3.1 million competitive grant from the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office to assist programs serving minority students, the department announced before Christmas. The three-year grant runs from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027, and is meant to help DOE’s Office of Environmental Management […]

Hiring new employees and upping the compensation of existing ones will cost between $2.3 million and $5.5 million, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a recent report to Congress. The commission made the 10-page report available on its website on Dec. 26. The NRC sent the report to Congress on Dec. 17, as it was […]

The Department of Energy’s environmental and disposal liabilities grew by $11 billion to $545 billion at the end of fiscal 2024, according to a December financial report. That is up about 2% from $534 billion at the end of fiscal 2023, according to DOE’s annual financial report released Dec. 12. “The increase is primarily due […]

President Joe Biden on Dec. 23 signed the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, setting spending limits for nuclear weapons and waste programs and changing parts of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authorizing law. The Senate approved the bill on Dec. 17. The House approved it Dec. 11. The bill sets policy and spending limits for […]

Department of Energy defense-nuclear programs will keep their 2024 budgets for almost half of fiscal year 2025, under the year’s second continuing resolution, signed into law Saturday. President Joe Biden (D) signed the bill early Saturday, the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere, hours after federal funding had technically lapsed under the previous […]

A partial government shutdown loomed after President-elect Donald Trump this week told congressional Republicans to oppose a three-month continuing resolution.  With about 12 hours to go until a shutdown at deadline for Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor, lawmakers were still scrambling to find a bill that could pass the House.  A backstop continuing resolution favored […]

The Senate this week passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, sending the annual defense policy bill, this year with a provision about radioactive waste disposal near the Great Lakes, to the White House. The Senate approved the bill 85-14. Voting no were three Republicans, 10 Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats. President […]

A partial government shutdown loomed after President-elect Donald Trump this week told congressional Republicans to oppose a three-month continuing resolution.  With about 12 hours to go until a shutdown at deadline for RadWaste Monitor, lawmakers were still scrambling to find a bill that could pass the House.  A backstop continuing resolution favored by Trump did […]

A partial government shutdown loomed after President-elect Donald Trump this week told congressional Republicans to oppose a three-month continuing resolution. With about 12 hours to go until a shutdown at deadline for Weapons Complex Monitor, lawmakers were still scrambling to find a bill that could pass the House. A backstop continuing resolution favored by Trump […]

The El Capitan supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will enter the classified network mid-March 2025, senior Livermore officials told the Exchange Monitor Tuesday at a press tour of the site. Sierra, the current Livermore supercomputer on the classified network, will retire when El Capitan takes over, Terri Quinn, the deputy associate director for high […]

The Senate on Tuesday passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, setting spending limits for nuclear weapons and waste programs and tinkering with the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authorizing law. The Senate approved the bill 85-14. Voting no were three Republicans, 10 Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats. President Joe Biden (D) had […]

A partial government shutdown loomed after President-elect Donald Trump told congressional Republicans to oppose a three-month continuing resolution. As of Thursday morning, Speaker of the House Rep. Michael Johnson (R-La.) had not proposed an alternative to the three-month spending package Republicans published Monday, and which would if passed keep the government open through March 14. […]

The Senate on Tuesday passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, setting spending limits for nuclear weapons and waste programs and tinkering with the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authorizing law. The Senate approved the bill 85-14. Voting no were three Republicans, 10 Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats. President Joe Biden (D) had […]

The House on Tuesday evening published the text of a continuing resolution that would mostly hold federal agencies to their 2024 budget through March 14. Federal funding will run out Friday unless the bill passes Congress and President Joe Biden (D) signs it. The House planned a vote later this week, according to a press […]

The Senate on Monday easily cleared a procedural hurdle to tee up a vote on an annual defense policy bill while the House prepared for a vote on another stopgap budget. The Senate voted 83 to 12 to end debate on a version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that drew widespread, though […]

Here are some events related to civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week: December 17 – Earnings call: Amentum will hold an earnings call  at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial results for fiscal 2024.  20 – Funding for federal agencies under the 2025 Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act […]

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) will chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the 119th session of Congress, beginning in January, the committee announced Monday. The Energy and Commerce committee authorizes and oversees civilian nuclear programs at the Department of Energy. Guthrie has represented Kentucky’s second congressional district since 2009. The western edge of the […]

Congress informally discouraged storage of radioactive waste near the Great Lakes in an annual defense policy bill the House approved Wednesday. The Senate had yet to vote on the bill as of deadline for RadWaste Monitor. The compromise National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025 was negotiated behind closed doors by House and […]

With time expiring soon on this congressional session, a longtime federal manager is still awaiting Senate confirmation to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The nomination of William “Ike” White to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) was unanimously endorsed by the Senate Armed Services Committee in September. The full Senate has yet to […]

With time expiring soon on this congressional session, a longtime federal manager is still awaiting Senate confirmation to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The nomination of William “Ike” White to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) was unanimously endorsed by the Senate Armed Services Committee in September. The full Senate has yet to […]

Defense Environmental Cleanup, the largest pot of funding for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, would be authorized for a little more than $7 billion under the defense policy bill. That’s roughly the amount requested by the Biden administration. The bill gives DOE authority to accelerate nuclear cleanup in instances when doing so would benefit modernization […]

The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed on Wednesday, would set the National Nuclear Security Administration’s spending cap at $24.9 billion for the fiscal year. The number, hashed out last weekend behind closed doors by a bicameral conference committee, is only about 0.2%, or $57 million, less than what the White House […]

The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the National Nuclear Security Administration’s spending cap at $24.9 billion, passed the House 281-140 this week. The bill now heads to the Senate, which is still controlled by a 51-member majority of Democrats and Democratically aligned Senators in the lame duck session that will end in a […]

The Senate on Thursday narrowly approved President Joe Biden’s (D) nominee to fill the last open spot on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The nominee, Matthew Marzano, made it through 50-45, with five Senators not voting. He needed the support of a majority of voting Senators and got it, ensuring that for most of the second […]

The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the National Nuclear Security Administration’s spending cap at $24.9 billion, passed the House 281-140 Wednesday. The bill now heads to the Senate, which is still controlled by a 51-member majority of Democrats and Democratically aligned Senators in the lame duck session that will end in a matter […]