Budget & Policy

Current and former nuclear weapons workers can learn about federal occupational illness compensation during a Department of Labor information meeting Wednesday in Portsmouth, Ohio. The meeting at the Morris University Center is designed to inform nuclear workers and their families about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, according to an April 4 press […]

A federal bailout of Diablo Canyon Power Plant should be paused because the government did not properly review the environmental effects of keeping the plant open, environmentalists said in a lawsuit filed this week. The bailout came from the Department of Energy’s Civilian Nuclear Credits Program and was contingent on DOE completing an environmental impact […]

The separation of the Pantex Plant in Texas and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee took a baby step forward this week with the opening of separate federal field offices for the nuclear-weapons production sites. Consolidated Nuclear Security, still the joint operations contractor for the two sites, announced the split on Tuesday in a […]

During 2023, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board advised the Department of Energy on issues ranging from on-site transportation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to overseeing aging nuclear infrastructure across the weapons complex. Those are some highlights of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB)’s 34th Annual Report to Congress published […]

During 2023, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board advised the Department of Energy on issues ranging from on-site transportation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to overseeing aging nuclear infrastructure across the weapons complex. Those are some highlights of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB)’s 34th Annual Report to Congress published March 18. DOE […]

By John Stang A high-ranking Ohio official already indicted for corruption related to struggling nuclear reactors was involved in similar schemes in the Buckeye State, according to court documents filed Friday by the offices of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich. Sam Randazzo, the already-indicted former head of the  Public Utilities […]

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee plans a hearing next week on spent fuel management for the U.S. nuclear power plants. The hearing, dubbed “American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Spent Fuel Policy and Innovation,” is set for Wednesday April 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, according to a press release. The session was […]

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee plans a hearing next week on spent fuel management for the U.S. nuclear power plants. The hearing, dubbed “American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Spent Fuel Policy and Innovation,” is set for Wednesday April 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, according to a press release. The session […]

During 2023, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board advised the Department of Energy on issues ranging from on-site transportation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to overseeing aging nuclear infrastructure across the weapons complex. Those are some highlights of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB)’s 34th Annual Report to Congress published […]

Here are some events related to civilian- and defense-nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. 2024 April 03: Virtual question and answer. Thomas Mason, director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Members of the public may participate on Zoom. 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. 04: Public Meeting, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “Discussion between the […]

President Joe Biden requested $47.2 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board for the 2025 fiscal year starting Oct, 1, or $5.2 million than the $42 million recently appropriated by congress for the small watchdog agency in fiscal 2024. The White House requested the $47.2 million and the equivalent of 128 full-time staff positions, […]

The White House last week nominated incumbent chairman Christopher Hansen to serve another term as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If confirmed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which had not scheduled a hearing on the renomination at deadline, Hanson would remain at the NRC through June 29, 2029. Hanson’s current […]

President Joe Biden (D) on Saturday signed a package of appropriations bills that fund the Department of Defense and other agencies through Sept. 30 and extended a key federal nuclear indemnity program. The bill extended Price-Anderson protections for Department of Energy contractors and commercial nuclear companies to Dec. 31, 2065 from Dec. 31, 2025 and […]

Although congress passed and President Joe Biden signed a major fiscal 2024 appropriations bill over the weekend, it did not include an extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), said via social media. “Total failure,” Hawley said last on the website X after learning the radiation compensation extension would not make it into […]

Michigan state Rep. Graham Filler (R) last week unveiled a bill to promote development of advanced nuclear reactors in the state.  The measure has 24 co-sponsors and would change Michigan law to adapt the federal definition of advanced nuclear reactors into the state’s laws and legally define the phrase “advanced nuclear reactor technologies” as any […]

President Joe Biden (D) on Saturday signed a package of appropriations bills that fund the Department of Defense and other agencies through Sept. 30 and extended a key federal nuclear indemnity program. The bill extended Price-Anderson protections for Department of Energy contractors and commercial nuclear companies to Dec. 31, 2065 from Dec. 31, 2025 and […]

President Joe Biden requested $47.2 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board for the 2025 fiscal year starting Oct, 1, or $5.2 million than the $42 million recently appropriated by congress for the small watchdog agency in fiscal 2024. The White House requested the $47.2 million and the equivalent of 128 full-time staff positions, […]

The White House last week nominated incumbent chairman Christopher Hansen to serve another term as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If confirmed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which had not scheduled a hearing on the renomination at deadline, Hanson would remain at the NRC through June 29, 2029. Hanson’s current […]

President Joe Biden requested $47.2 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board for the 2025 fiscal year starting Oct, 1, or $5.2 million than the $42 million recently appropriated by congress for the small watchdog agency in fiscal 2024. The White House requested the $47.2 million and the equivalent of 128 full-time staff positions, […]

Here is an event related to defense nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week 26: The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico holds a by-invitation celebration of the 25th anniversary of its first shipment of transuranic waste starting at 10 a.m.

Although congress passed and President Joe Biden signed a major fiscal 2024 appropriations bill over the weekend, it did not include an extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), said via social media. “Total failure,” Hawley said Thursday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after learning the radiation compensation […]

President Joe Biden (D) on Saturday signed a package of appropriations bills that fund the Department of Defense and other agencies through Sept. 30 and extended a key federal nuclear indemnity program. The bill extended Price-Anderson protections for Department of Energy contractors and commercial nuclear companies to Dec. 31, 2065 from Dec. 31, 2025 and […]

The Department of Energy’s final budget for fiscal year 2024 does not contain a federal ban on commercial interim storage sites to which states have not consented. A version of DOE’s 2024 budget bill that passed the House last year specified that none of the agency’s appropriations for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 could be […]

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he’s “optimistic” Congress will take action on the pending supplemental with further aid for Ukraine, while adding that Kyiv’s “survival is in danger” in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion. “I am optimistic that we will see some action [on the supplemental] moving forward. But, again, this is a […]

Merging the Hanford Site’s two field offices in Washington state will not deprioritize cleanup of millions of gallons of radioactive tank waste, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told House appropriators Wednesday. DOE has for years planned to combine Hanford’s Office of River Protection with the Richland Operations Office in 2025, the same year the site […]

A federal nuclear liability shield would be extended for 40 years and quadruple the value of federal indemnity for nuclear incidents outside the U.S. if a 2024 appropriations bill passed by the House Friday becomes law. The language in the appropriations package that funds the Department of Defense and several other agencies would extend the […]

A federal nuclear liability shield would be extended for 40 years and quadruple the value of federal indemnity for nuclear incidents outside the U.S. if a 2024 appropriations bill released Thursday becomes law. The language in the appropriations package that funds the Department of Defense and several other agencies would extend the Price-Anderson protections to […]

A new cost and schedule estimate for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s new factory for nuclear weapon secondary stages will be done “soon” and will not change the scope of the project, the secretary of energy said this week in congressional testimony. The “baseline change proposal” for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National […]

No, the Secretary of Energy said this week during the first budget hearing of the 2025 fiscal year, the Department of Energy does not plan to fund a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. “I just want to ask you if you can quickly confirm on the record what the department’s fiscal year 25 funding […]

A federal nuclear liability shield would be extended for 40 years and quadruple the value of federal indemnity for nuclear incidents outside the U.S. if a 2024 appropriations bill passed by the House Friday becomes law. The language in the appropriations package that funds the Department of Defense and several other agencies would extend the […]