Budget & Policy

President Joe Biden (D) on Tuesday said he would sign a bill that would extend and expand the federal legislation that financially compensates people harmed by radioactive material used to build the U.S. nuclear arsenal.  “The President believes we have a solemn obligation to address toxic exposure, especially among those who have been placed in […]

The largest nuclear cleanup sites run by the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management would meet or beat fiscal 2023 funding levels, under the compromise 2024 appropriations bill released over the weekend. At the Hanford Site in Washington state, the former plutonium-making complex that is now DOE’s most expensive cleanup project, the two operational […]

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a vocal advocate of renewing a compensation program for people sickened by radiation exposure stemming from the U.S. nuclear weapons production, plans to bring a local activist on the issue as his guest at the State of the Union address. In a Monday press release, Hawley said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board continues without a quorum for its role as federal safety watchdog for Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities, and the current chair’s term expires this fall. Designed as a five-person panel, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) still has only two members. A Senate committee has approved a […]

Defense and civilian nuclear programs at the Department of Energy would all get raises for the 2024 fiscal year under a compromise appropriators package, released Sunday, that congressional leaders and the White House have said they support.  DOE and other federal agencies are still operating under a short-term continuing resolution that holds spending to 2023 […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week: March  06: Meeting: A hybrid meeting on cleanup priorities at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site will be held starting at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time at the Gallery Room of the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate […]

The Kentucky State Senate this week passed a bill that would create a non-regulatory agency to spur development of nuclear power in a state that has none of its own. Senate Bill 198 passed the state Senate unanimously on Monday, 34-0. It must still be approved in the state’s House of Representatives, beginning at the […]

This week, almost halfway through the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, congressional appropriators announced they would pass a final 2024 budget for the Department of Energy and other agencies next week. In the meantime, to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday, when funding for DOE and other agencies was set to expire, Congress […]

This week, almost halfway through the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, congressional appropriators announced they would pass a final 2024 budget for the Department of Energy and other agencies next week. In the meantime, to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday, when funding for DOE and other agencies was set to expire, Congress […]

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) this week implored fellow lawmakers to renew a program to compensate victims of Manhattan Project-era radiation exposure.  In a letter dated Feb. 26, Hawley asked his Senate colleagues to reauthorize the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which he said is “critical funding,” without which citizens exposed to radioactive materials during […]

This week, almost halfway through the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, congressional appropriators announced they would pass a final 2024 budget for the Department of Energy and other agencies next week. In the meantime, to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday, when funding for DOE and other agencies was set to expire, Congress […]

On Wednesday, almost halfway through the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, congressional appropriators announced they would pass a final 2024 budget for the Department of Energy and other agencies next week. In the meantime, to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday, when funding for DOE and other agencies was set to expire, appropriators […]

The House on Wednesday easily passed a bipartisan nuclear-policy bill that serves as the lower chamber’s response to a similar bill the full Senate approved late last year. The Atomic Energy Advancement Act sailed through 365-36, with 29 representatives not voting and one representative voting “present.” That handily eclipsed the two-thirds majority the bill needed […]

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) this week imposed fellow lawmakers to renew a program to compensate victims of Manhattan Project-era radiation exposure.  In a letter dated Feb. 26, Hawley asked his Senate colleagues to reauthorize the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which he said is “critical funding,” without which citizens exposed to radioactive materials during […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week: 27-29: United Kingdom Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Academic and Industry Research Forum. Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield, U.K. Register online. 27: Earnings: BWX Technologies will host an earnings call starting at 5 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss quarterly and […]

A bill to create a state nuclear agency could get a vote in the Kentucky state Senate as early as next week. Senate Bill 198 on Thursday was sent to the state Senate’s Rules Committee, the final stop before the chamber floor. The measure would create a Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority, a non-regulatory body […]

A bipartisan bill introduced late last week in the South Carolina legislature would add promotion of small modular reactors to the responsibilities of the Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Committee. House Bill 5118 would also restructure the Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council by requiring that the director of the council be a full-time employee of the governor’s office, […]

A bipartisan bill introduced late last week in the South Carolina legislature would add promotion of small modular reactors to the responsibilities of the Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Committee. House Bill 5118 would also restructure the Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council by requiring that the director of the council be a full-time employee of the governor’s office, […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week:. 20: Earnings call: Fluor will report on its quarterly financial perforamcne in a conference call with financial analysts at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.  21: Meeting: The Department of Energy’s Nevada Site-Specific Advisory Board holds a hybrid […]

Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will not publish on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in recognition of the U.S. holiday Washington’s Birthday, or President’s Day. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.

A bill that would have let New Mexico and Los Alamos County tax production of plutonium pits died quietly in the New Mexico legislature after a committee of jurisdiction declined to take up the measure. This week, when the legislative session ended, the bill was still waiting for action in the New Mexico House of […]

Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and Mike Levin (D-Calif.) again filed a bill that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to certify that storage casks for nuclear waste “can safely operate” for at least 100 years. The bill, filed Jan. 31, is becoming a perennial bloomer in Congress. Levin, whose southern California district includes the Diablo […]

By John Stang An Ohio grand jury returned numerous indictments Friday against two former FirstEnergy Corp. executives — including ousted CEO Charles “Chuck” Jones — plus the disgraced former head of the  Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. This is the latest fallout from a scandal dating back to 2019 involving two financially struggling Ohio reactors, […]

The House of Representatives was in no rush this week to consider a Ukraine aid package that would also provide an infusion of funds for monitoring radiological threats in Ukraine combat zones, the Speaker of the House said. “We are not going to be forced into action by the Senate,” Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the […]

The House of Representatives was in no rush this week to consider a Ukraine aid package that also provides billions to jumpstart a domestic uranium enrichment industry, the Speaker of the House said. “We are not going to be forced into action by the Senate,” Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the speaker, said Wednesday in a […]

The Senate on Tuesday passed a national security appropriations package that would boost the Department of Energy’s radiological safety efforts in Ukraine and seed a new commercial uranium refining industry. The bill includes $2.7 billion for DOE contracts that could help the federal government acquire high assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), plus about $150 million for […]

An Ohio grand jury returned numerous indictments Friday against two former FirstEnergy Corp. executives — including ousted CEO Charles “Chuck” Jones — plus the disgraced former head of the  Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. This is the latest fallout from a scandal dating back to 2019 involving two financially struggling Ohio reactors, $60 million in […]

The Senate on Thursday cleared a hurdle to vote on a bill that would bolster the National Nuclear Security Administration’s budget for monitoring potential radiological threats in Ukrainian combat zones. Senators on Thursday voted 67-32 to end debate on the bill, clearing the way for a final floor vote that was not scheduled at deadline […]

To account for inflation, the National Nuclear Security Administration has petitioned Congress and been approved to bump up the threshold for minor construction projects to $34 million.  That is up from a $30 million threshold set by the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA also provided the NNSA with “pilot authority” to […]

The Senate on Thursday cleared a hurdle to vote on a bill that would fund the Department of Energy’s planned jumpstart of a new commercial uranium refining industry. Senators on Thursday voted 67-32 to end debate on the bill, clearing the way for a final floor vote that had not been scheduled as of Friday […]