Budget & Policy

The Congressionally-created safety watchdog for nuclear defense facilities was not denied access to any Department of Energy records or personnel during the first six months of 2022. In a regular update to Congress, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) said July 1 that the Secretary of Energy did not deny any written requests for […]

Congress needs to amend federal nuclear waste law, not only allow the government to build an interim storage facility for spent fuel, but also to allow private companies to develop spent fuel reprocessing technologies, the CEO of such a company told RadWaste Monitor this week. “Congress is in the key role right now, because the […]

Nevada’s congressional delegation wants to codify the consent-based siting of future nuclear waste repositories, an amendment filed for the House’s 2023 National Defense Authorization Act shows. If the House adopts Rep. Dina Titus’ (D-Nev.) amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the law would prohibit the Department of Energy from unilaterally using cash […]

The House Appropriations Committee, which last week advanced a spending bill with about $7.9-billion in fiscal 2023 funds for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office, is still concerned about long-term remediation costs of the Hanford Site in Washington state. House appropriators remain antsy about the money and time needed to fully clean up the […]

The Department of Energy has taken care of seven of 25 priority issues identified by the Government Accountability Office in 2021 and should get to work on the rest, Congress’ investigative arm wrote in a letter to the agency. “We are also adding eight new recommendations related to project, program, and portfolio management; contract management; […]

Several nuclear weapons issues, touching on life extension programs, research prohibitions and more, could come up for debate on the House floor next week when lawmakers return to Washington. After a week at home for Independence Day, lawmakers were set to resume floor votes on July 12, according to the majority leader’s calendar. Looming large is […]

The Department of Energy has taken care of seven of 25 priority issues identified by the Government Accountability Office in 2021 and should get to work on the rest, Congress’ investigative arm wrote in a letter to the agency. “We are also adding eight new recommendations related to project, program, and portfolio management; contract management; […]

Nevada’s congressional delegation wants to codify the consent-based siting of future nuclear waste repositories, an amendment filed for the House’s 2023 National Defense Authorization Act shows. If the House adopts Rep. Dina Titus’ (D-Nev.) amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the law would prohibit the Department of Energy from unilaterally using cash […]

Several nuclear weapons issues, touching on life extension programs, research prohibitions and more, could come up for debate on the House floor next week when lawmakers return to Washington. After a week at home for Independence Day, lawmakers were set to resume floor votes on July 12, according to the majority leader’s calendar. Looming large […]

The House Appropriations Committee, which last week advanced a spending bill with about $7.9-billion in fiscal 2023 funds for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office, is still concerned about long-term remediation costs of the Hanford Site in Washington state. House appropriators remain antsy about the money and time needed to fully clean up the […]

A House Appropriations subcommittee recommends funding the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board at $41.4 million in fiscal 2023, the amount sought by the President Joe Biden administration and more than $5 million more than the safety watchdog received for fiscal 2022. The funding plan is included in the Energy and Water Development subcommittee’s bill report […]

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), a candidate for the U.S. Senate, used a House Appropriation Committee markup Tuesday on a Department of Energy fiscal 2023 budget proposal to discuss health concerns and hopes for economic development at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. During the vote approving the Energy and Water Development subcommittee’s nearly $7.9-billion budget for […]

After the Supreme Court vacated a Washington state law aimed at making it easier for workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site to claim compensation for job-related illnesses, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Congress must pass her Toxic Exposure Safety Act. The high court, an independent branch of the federal government, unanimously ruled last […]

The full House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday voted 32 to 24 in favor of a fiscal year 2023 spending bill with almost $7.9 billion for nuclear weapons cleanup at the Department of Energy. That’s about even with the 2022 appropriation, and with the Joe Biden administration’s ask, taking into account the roughly $190 million the […]

House appropriators during a budget markup this week came out swinging against two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in Texas and New Mexico. “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is racing to license the construction of high level [nuclear waste] storage sites both in New Mexico and in Texas,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) […]

House appropriators this week reversed course and agreed to the White House’s request to move interim spent fuel funding out of the Department of Energy’s dedicated Nuclear Waste Disposal account, according to a draft budget report. Interim storage funding proposals in the House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee’s 2023 budget report, published Monday, appeared […]

After the Supreme Court vacated a Washington state law aimed at making it easier for workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site to claim compensation for job-related illnesses, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Congress must pass her Toxic Exposure Safety Act. The high court, an independent branch of the federal government, unanimously ruled last […]

The utility in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant on Tuesday changed its tune about the facility’s planned closure, asking the Department of Energy for extra time to apply for a federal bailout to keep it online. Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) “appreciates the Department of Energy’s efforts […]

House appropriators want to provide the National Nuclear Security Administration with all the funding it requested in 2023 to build plutonium pit factories in New Mexico and South Carolina and fund a megaton-capable bomb the White House wanted to kill. The 2023 energy and water development appropriations act approved this week on a party line […]

The House Appropriations Committee this week recommended funding the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board at $41.4 million in fiscal 2023, the amount sought by the Joe Biden administration and over $5 million more than the federal nuclear watchdog received for fiscal 2022. The funding plan, approved Tuesday by the committee in a party-line vote, was […]

Jamie Shimek, lead staffer on the appropriations panel that writes the first draft of the Department of Energy’s budget every year, will leave Congress and return to the national labs network, lawmakers said during recent budget debates. “She will be my newest constituent,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) said Tuesday during the House Appropriations committee’s markup […]

After a three-judge panel earlier this year ruled in favor of the Joe Biden administration’s executive order requiring virtually all federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, the entire Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to rehear the case. In a two-page order published Monday, the 5th Circuit said it has agreed to grant the petition from […]

The House Appropriations this week approved a 2023 spending bill that included roughly the requested funding for Department of Energy nuclear weapons programs, one of which should get almost double the funding it will receive under the bill, a Republican Congressman said. The 2023 energy and water development appropriations act should be “[r]aising the amount […]

After a three-judge panel earlier this year ruled in favor of the Joe Biden administration’s executive order requiring virtually all federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, the entire Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to rehear the case. In a two-page order published Monday, the 5th Circuit said it has agreed to grant […]

The House Appropriations on Tuesday approved a 2023 spending bill that included roughly the requested funding for Department of Energy nuclear weapons programs, one of which should get almost double the funding it will receive under the bill, a Republican Congressman said. The 2023 energy and water development appropriations act should be “[r]aising the amount […]

The full House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday voted 32 to 24 in favor of a fiscal year 2023 spending bill with almost $7.9 billion for nuclear weapons cleanup at the Department of Energy. That’s about even with the 2022 appropriation, and with the Joe Biden administration’s ask, taking into account the roughly $190 million the […]

House appropriators during a budget markup Tuesday came out swinging against two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in Texas and New Mexico. “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is racing to license the construction of high level [nuclear waste] storage sites both in New Mexico and in Texas,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told […]

Jamie Shimek, lead staffer on the appropriations panel that writes the first draft of the Department of Energy’s budget every year, will leave Congress and return to the national labs network, lawmakers said during recent budget debates. “She will be my newest constituent,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) said Tuesday during the House Appropriations committee’s markup […]

House appropriators want to keep the Hanford Site’s budget flat in fiscal year 2023 and nixed the Joe Biden administration’s plan to increase the site’s liquid-waste budget at the expense of solid-waste programs, according to a bill up for debate in committee on Tuesday. Overall, the bill proposes roughly the $7.9 billion requested for DOE’s […]

A House Appropriations subcommittee recommends funding the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board at $41.4 million in fiscal 2023, the amount sought by the President Joe Biden administration and more than $5 million more than the safety watchdog received for fiscal 2022. The funding plan is included in the Energy and Water Development subcommittee’s bill report […]