Archive

Budget & Policy

Congressional appropriations, continuing resolutions, and White House directives shaping funding and priorities across DOE, NNSA, and NRC — the policy context behind every program story.

  • Expensive cyber rules on the way for federal contracts, ex-CIO warns

    LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Department of Energy’s former chief information officer warns the federal government will become more demanding on cyber security requirements for contractors, and that it’s likely to be costly and time-consuming. “Agencies are updating policies,” Rocky Campione, vice president of cybersecurity and technology solutions for Boston Government Services, said here Wednesday. Campione […]

  • With RECA slated to expire soon, pressure on GOP speaker to include more victims nationwide

    The bipartisan-supported Radiation Exposure Compensation Act will expire on June 7 if not reauthorized by then, and Missouri representatives continue to voice their dissatisfaction with an extension that would not expand the number of nuclear workers who might qualify. On May 28, Rep. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) posted a statement on the social media platform X […]

  • Radwaste Summit focuses on topics including remediation, weapons and clean energy

    Exchange Monitor’s annual Radwaste Summit kicks off today in Louisville, Ky., with presentations by representatives of federal agencies, the nuclear industry, along with state and local officials. Monday’s sessions commence at 1 p.m. eastern time with a keynote panel on waste management initiatives and national cleanup priorities. The opening panel features Joe Heckman, the president […]

  • ‘Keith Richards might be dead by then,’ King says of best-case Hanford scenario

    When pressed during a Senate hearing to say when the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state might be cleaned up, William (Ike) White, longtime DOE Environmental Management acting boss, said a “best-case” might be 2060. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who chairs the Senate Armed Forces Committee’s Strategic Forces subcommittee, appeared surprised by White’s […]

  • ‘Generational’ defense pitch has nuclear-weapons policy, force changes, more NNSA funding

    The U.S. should declare nuclear “revitalization” in and outside of the National Nuclear Security Administration a national priority, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday. The call by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was part of a 52-page proposal for “a generational investment in the U.S. military,” in which Wicker detailed plans […]

  • White House hosts summit on domestic nuclear power; creates new nuclear working group

    President Joe Biden’s (D) administration on Wednesday hosted what it called a White House Summit on Domestic Nuclear Deployment and announced it would create a federal working group to promote domestic nuclear technology. The closed-door summit included attendees from government and industry. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission posted a photo from the summit on the website X. […]

  • Nuclear policy reforms navigating Senate gridlock

    A bi-partisan, bi-cameral package of nuclear policy reforms that sailed through the House in May has stalled in the Senate, where at least one lawmaker has not consented to pass the bill without a roll call vote. As of Tuesday, no senator had publicly declared opposition to the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for […]

  • NNSA plans to tweak HR processes after GAO recommendations about recruiting, retention

    The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to address Government Accountability Office recommendations about recruiting and retaining new contract and federal workers by the end of the year, the agency told the office. In two reports released Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) attempt to streamline the process it […]

  • White House hosts summit on domestic nuclear power; creates new nuclear working group

    President Joe Biden’s (D) administration on Wednesday hosted what it called a White House Summit on Domestic Nuclear Deployment and announced it would create a federal working group to promote domestic nuclear technology. The closed-door summit included attendees from government and industry. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission posted a photo from the summit on the website […]

  • NNSA plans to tweak HR processes after GAO recommendations about recruiting, retention 

    The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to address Government Accountability Office recommendations about recruiting and retaining new contract and federal workers by the end of the year, the agency told the office. In two reports released Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) attempt to streamline the process it […]

  • ‘Generational’ defense pitch has nuclear-weapons policy, force changes, more NNSA funding

    The U.S. should declare nuclear “revitalization” in and outside of the National Nuclear Security Administration a national priority, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday. The call by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was part of a 52-page proposal for “a generational investment in the U.S. military,” in which Wicker detailed plans […]

  • ‘Keith Richards might be dead by then,’ King says of best-case Hanford scenario

    When pressed during a Senate hearing to say when the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state might be cleaned up, William (Ike) White, longtime DOE Environmental Management acting boss, said a “best-case” might be 2060. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who chairs the Senate Armed Forces Committee’s Strategic Forces subcommittee, appeared surprised by White’s […]

  • Nuclear policy reforms navigating Senate gridlock

    A bi-partisan, bi-cameral package of nuclear policy reforms that sailed through the House in May has stalled in the Senate, where at least one lawmaker has not consented to pass the bill without a roll call vote. As of Tuesday, no senator had publicly declared opposition to the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for […]

  • House appropriator Simpson wins Idaho GOP primary

    Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who has used his seat on the House Appropriations Committee to support funding for the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, has again won the GOP nomination to represent the state’s 2nd Congressional district. Simpson received over half the votes cast in Tuesday’s Republican primary, defeating two GOP challengers, the Idaho […]

  • House appropriator Simpson wins Idaho GOP primary

    Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who has used his seat on the House Appropriations Committee to support funding for the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, has again won the GOP nomination to represent the state’s 2nd Congressional district. Simpson received over half the votes cast in Tuesday’s Republican primary, defeating two GOP challengers, the Idaho Capital […]

  • Nunn-McCurdy process proposed for NNSA in House committees defense bill; new Sentinel oversight

    Early Wednesday, lawmakers approved an amendment to study use of a Nunn-McCurdy-type oversight process for the National Nuclear Security Administration. In an uncontroversial en bloc amendment package to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Rep. John Garamendi (R-Ca.) proposed that the Nunn-McCurdy Act requirement to keep Congress appraised of major spikes in project costs […]

  • Nunn-McCurdy process proposed for NNSA in House committees defense bill

    Early Wednesday, lawmakers approved an amendment to study use of a Nunn-McCurdy-type oversight process for the National Nuclear Security Administration. In an uncontroversial en bloc amendment package to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Rep. John Garamendi (R-Ca.) proposed that the Nunn-McCurdy Act requirement to keep Congress appraised of major spikes in project costs […]

  • Mo. house passes bill providing tax break for KC nuclear weapons workers

    On Friday, the Missouri House passed a bill offering tax breaks to expand the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear-weapons-parts plant in Kansas City. “This is a huge economic benefit for Kansas City,” Rep. Chris Brown (R-Kansas City), who sponsored the bill alongside then-state-Sen. Greg Razer (D-Jackson County), told the Kansas City Star on Friday. The […]

  • Wrap up: Lab soil contractor sought; House panel advances NDAA but not RECA; more

    The Battelle-led prime of the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory is shopping for a subcontractor to collect and ship sand contaminated with mercury to a Veolia waste facility in Gum Springs, Ark., from the Upton, N.Y., lab, according to a solicitation posted online Tuesday. Questions about the work are due by June 5 and […]

  • NRC’s Hanson to get vote in Senate after Memorial Day recess

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday filed a procedural motion to limit further debate on Christopher Hanson’s nomination to serve five more years at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. When the Senate returns to Washington on June 3, lawmakers will vote at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on the petition to invoke what is formally […]

  • Biden intends to nominate Ike White for DNFSB post

    President Joe Biden said Thursday afternoon he plans to nominate William Isaac (Ike) White, acting head of Department of Energy nuclear cleanup since mid-2019, to become a member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. News of the planned nomination, in a White House press release, comes only three weeks prior to when White would […]

  • Nunn-McCurdy process proposed for NNSA in House committees defense bill; new Sentinel oversight

    Early Wednesday, lawmakers approved an amendment to study use of a Nunn-McCurdy-type oversight process for the National Nuclear Security Administration.  In an uncontroversial en bloc amendment package to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Rep. John Garamendi (R-Ca.) proposed that the Nunn-McCurdy Act requirement to keep Congress appraised of major spikes in project costs […]

  • House appropriator Simpson wins Idaho GOP primary

    Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who has used his seat on the House Appropriations Committee to support funding for the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, has again won the GOP nomination to represent the state’s 2nd Congressional district. Simpson received over half the votes cast in Tuesday’s Republican primary, defeating two GOP challengers, the Idaho […]

  • Nuke double-header on Hill: NDAA in House, Hruby and Co. in Senate

    The House Armed Services Committee will mark up the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, the same day the Senate Armed Services Committee plans a late hearing on the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons budget. The full-committee markup was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern time in the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2118. The Senate […]

  • Mo. house passes bill providing tax break for KC nuclear weapons workers

    On Friday, the Missouri House passed a bill offering tax breaks to expand the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear-weapons-parts plant in Kansas City. “This is a huge economic benefit for Kansas City,” Rep. Chris Brown (R-Kansas City), who sponsored the bill alongside then-state-Sen. Greg Razer (D-Jackson County), told the Kansas City Star on Friday. The […]

  • Biden signs ban on Russian uranium imports

    President Biden (D) on this week signed into law a ban on importing Russian uranium beginning in 2028, the White House announced. Under the bill signed Monday companies may no longer import unirradiated low-enriched uranium produced in Russia or by a Russian entity unless the importer gets a waiver from the Department of Energy. Waivers are only […]

  • Biden signs ban on Russian uranium imports

    President Biden (D) on Monday signed into law a ban on importing Russian uranium beginning in 2028, the White House announced. Under the bill, companies may no longer import unirradiated low-enriched uranium produced in Russia or by a Russian entity unless the importer gets a waiver from the Department of Energy. Waivers are only good […]

  • Nevada’s U.S. Senators file new bill to kill Yucca Mountain, roll back designation as repository

    Amid her campaign for a second term, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) on Tuesday filed a bill that would if enacted remove Yucca Mountain’s designation as a nuclear waste repository. The bill would also terminate the not-quite-dead Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding that the George W. Bush (R) administration started with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the […]

  • Pantex award in June; ‘bold’ NNSA weapons budget forecast

    WASHINGTON — The National Nuclear Security Administration still plans to announce the new manager of Pantex Plant in June, the head of the agency said here Wednesday. Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), reiterated the timeline during an evening Capitol Hill panel discussion and reception hosted by Bechtel National, the nongovernmental […]

  • Weapons up, nonproliferation down in House committee’s NDAA

    The National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons programs would be authorized for slightly more than requested and its nonproliferation programs for slightly less if a defense bill published Monday becomes law. The House Armed Services Committee released the bill and report language for the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Monday and planned its annual […]