Budget & Policy

The largest driver to the increase of nuclear reactor construction cost in the United States is mid-construction regulatory change, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Roger Pielke recently said.  In a Monday analysis report, Pielke said U.S. nuclear construction has essentially flatlined since 2006 and argued that nuclear policy choices have led to the cost increase. […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) released its version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would authorize $32.31 billion in spending for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). SASC marked up its version of the must-pass defense policy bill last week, and it has advanced to the Senate floor now. The […]

Eleven candidates, including multiple Republicans have filed paperwork with Washington state election officials to compete in an Aug. 4 primary to help select a successor to incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) in the state’s 4th congressional district. The Central Washington district, with a history of supporting Republicans, includes the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. Newhouse, […]

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), the longtime incumbent whose district adjoins the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, used a Sunday opinion column in the Tri-City Herald to defend proposed fiscal 2027 nuclear cleanup funding for Hanford in the bill passed by House Appropriations last month. The comments by Newhouse, a House Appropriations member who is not […]

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was hospitalized Sunday according to reports from national news organizations. “Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning,” spokesperson David Popp said in a statement,” quoted by NBC News and other major outlets. “He is receiving excellent care.” Popp did not share additional details, according to the NBC report. McConnell, […]

The Department of Energy unveiled the final version of its Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap on Tuesday. The Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap serves as a national strategy to place the development and commercialization of fusion energy on a fast track. The newest fusion strategy aligns DOE and private industry to bring together fusion energy, […]

An informal online survey indicates gasoline prices through the Department of Energy nuclear cleanup complex range from $3.50 to $5.59 per gallon. Exchange Monitor used tools such as Gas Buddy and AAA (the American Automobile Association) to gauge gasoline prices at DOE cleanup sites run by the Office of Environmental Management as of Thursday afternoon. […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize over $41 billion for Department of Energy national security programs while advancing provisions tied to nuclear weapons programs. SASC has been marking up its version of the defense policy bill in closed hearings this week, and on Thursday released the […]

The House Appropriations Defense subcommittee (HAC-D) Thursday advanced its $1.07 trillion defense spending bill for fiscal 2027, which funds nuclear-related programs at the Pentagon such as the nuclear triad and the delivery systems that carry nuclear warheads. The bill, which aligns with the Donald Trump administration’s requested discretionary spending level, will be marked up by […]

Two top GOP senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee are opposing a third reconciliation bill, both said during a hearing on the Air Force’s budget Tuesday. The Trump administration’s total $1.5 trillion fiscal 2027 defense request is split between $1.15 trillion in discretionary spending and $350 billion the White House has said it will seek […]

The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) rejected an amendment to the fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill to cut funding for the new Trump-class battleship but did agree to a report on how the Navy will manage another nuclear-powered vessel. During the full committee markup last week, ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) offered an amendment […]

The Department of Energy is working with the state of Utah on finalizing an agreement to place a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus there, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said during a House hearing Wednesday. Wright provided a brief update on DOE’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, which the agency has been rather tight-lipped on. He was […]

The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC), based in Kennewick, Wash., said this week it is too early for locals to panic about a proposed fiscal 2027 budget cut for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. The House Appropriations Committee last week passed out of committee its version of the Energy & Water spending plan for the […]

The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC), based in Kennewick, Wash., said this week it is too early for locals to panic about a proposed fiscal 2027 budget cut for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. The House Appropriations Committee last week passed out of committee its version of the Energy & Water spending plan for the […]

The Department of Energy unveiled the finalized version of its Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap on Tuesday. The Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap serves as a national strategy to expedite the development and commercialization of fusion energy on a fast track. The newest fusion strategy aligns DOE and private industry to bring together fusion energy, […]

Two top GOP senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee are opposing a third reconciliation bill, both said during a hearing on the Air Force’s budget Tuesday. The Trump administration’s total $1.5 trillion fiscal 2027 defense request is split between $1.15 trillion in discretionary spending and $350 billion the White House has said it will seek […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright will testify before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee to discuss the Department of Energy’s fiscal 2027 budget request on Wednesday morning. The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. Eastern Time in Room 2318 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. In President Donald Trump’s White […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee and Appropriations Defense Subcommittee will hold hearings this week on defense policy and the defense budget, potentially touching on nuclear matters. On Monday, the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee was scheduled to mark up its portions of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a defense policy bill […]

The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) rejected an amendment to the fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill to cut funding for the new Trump-class battleship but did agree to a report on how the Navy will manage another nuclear-powered vessel. During the full committee markup last week, ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) offered an amendment […]

The House Armed Services Committee passed the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would authorize $160 million for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy in a 44-12 vote Thursday night. The $160 million is level to what the NDAA authorized the Office of Nuclear Energy last fiscal year. On May 20, […]

The House Armed Services Committee passed its version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at midnight Thursday after debating around 900 amendments all day Thursday, several of which pertained to nuclear issues. The defense policy bill, which also sets spending caps for the appropriations bills, would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for […]

The House Armed Services Committee Thursday voted 44-12 to advance the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That is just a little less than the White House requested for fiscal 2027 at $32.80 billion, and almost $7 […]

The version of the  fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed 44-12 by the House Armed Services Committee Thursday night would endorse the Department of Energy’s nuclear remediation branch to spend up to about $7.2 billion on Defense Environmental Cleanup.  Last month the House Appropriations Committee advanced a proposed Energy & Water Development budget […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy subcommittee will host a hearing to examine several pieces of nuclear legislation on June 9 in Room 2123 in Rayburn House Office Building at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time. The subcommittee panel will look at three bills that have already been introduced during this Congressional session. It will examine […]

Several officials from environmental organizations held a meeting in Washington, D.C. Tuesday warning against reworking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and streamlining nuclear licensing amid the push of powering artificial intelligence (AI).  Over the past year, various environmental groups have opposed the United States’ renewed interest in nuclear power, spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump’s […]

The version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill recently voted out of the House Appropriations Committee endorses key Department of Energy projects getting underway at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash and the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. At Savannah River Site (SRS) DOE is directed to brief the House Appropriations […]

Four years after an agreement apparently resolved a federal safety watchdog’s access to staff and records at Department of Energy nuclear sites, the dispute appears to be back. In an April 29 letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (DNFSB) lone member said DOE is not complying with its […]

Years after an agreement apparently resolved a federal safety watchdog’s access to staff and records at Department of Energy nuclear sites, the dispute appears to be back. In an April 29 letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (DNFSB) lone member said DOE is not complying with its Atomic […]

The version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill recently voted out of the House Appropriations Committee endorses key Department of Energy projects getting underway at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash and the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. At Savannah River Site (SRS) DOE is directed to brief the House Appropriations […]

Several officials from environmental organizations held a meeting in Washington, D.C. Tuesday warning against reworking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and streamlining nuclear deployment amid the push of powering artificial intelligence (AI).  Over the past year, various environmental groups have opposed the United States’ renewed interest in nuclear power, spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump’s […]