Budget & Policy

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has made use of “Nonpublic Collaborative Discussions” on various issues since being given the option to use such private meetings in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, according to a recent report. “The NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] for fiscal year 2021 included a change to the Atomic […]

The Joe Biden administration’s $7.6-billion budget request for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office should help the agency begin conversion of low-activity radioactive tank waste into glass at the Hanford Site in Washington state, and other key remediation chores, William (Ike) White told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee Wednesday. The DOE Office of Environmental […]

The Pentagon and the National Nuclear Security Administration are still “sorting out” exactly how many nuclear-weapon triggers the military needs and by when, the head of the civilian agency said in congressional testimony Wednesday. Law requires the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapons agency to make 80 pits a year by 2030 — a goal the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget request includes everything permitted by the Joe Biden administration’s as-yet unpublished nuclear posture review, the Secretary of Energy said Wednesday in written testimony prepared for her first scheduled congressional budget hearing of the season. The nuclear-weapons steward’s 2023 request of $21.4 billion is around 3.5% higher […]

A facility the National Nuclear Security Administration is building to remove plutonium from the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., could arrive a little later and cost a little more than thought only a year ago, the agency wrote in its fiscal year 2023 budget request. Unspecified design changes recommended by site prime Savannah River […]

A Senate committee was scheduled Thursday to decide whether Kathryn Huff will get a chance to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, according to a recent meeting notice.  When the White House announced its intention to nominate Huff to be assistant secretary for nuclear energy in January, the former assistant professor of […]

DNFSB taking advantage of closed-door meetings, according to report to Congress The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has made use of “Nonpublic Collaborative Discussions” on various issues since being given the option to use such private meetings in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, according to a recent report. “The NDAA [National Defense Authorization […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian matters that the Exchange Monitor staff is tracking this week: 26: The National Academies’ Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board kicks off a three-day meeting starting at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time at the Holiday Inn Richland, Wash., regarding continued analysis of supplemental treatment of low-activity waste at the Hanford […]

The Department of Energy requested $10 million to fund local and tribal participation in the agency’s quest to site and eventually build a federally operated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, according to a detailed fiscal year 2023 budget request released late last week. For the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, DOE says […]

The Supreme Court should uphold the constitutionality of a 2018 Washington state law that makes it easier for workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford site to qualify for compensation for illnesses, the state attorney general’s office argued Monday before the high court. The U.S. Supreme Court, an independent branch of the federal government, agreed […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration aims to continue shoring up its workforce by adding the equivalent of 38 full-time employees in fiscal year 2023, according to newly released details of its 2023 budget request. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapons agency seeks about $496 million, a roughly a 7% year-over-year increase, for its federal salaries […]

The U.S. Air Force in fiscal 2023 is requesting almost $981 million for the Long Range Standoff Missile that Raytheon is developing for the service — nearly $382 million more than appropriated by Congress in fiscal 2022 and more than $615 million more than the fiscal 2021 budget. Of the $980.8 million the Air Force […]

The story “After watchdog disclosure, DOE says potential vapor issue at Hanford pretreatment plant ‘resolved’” [Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, April 13, 2022] should have said that a private group, not an internal DOE report, raised concerns about people and animals outside of the Hanford Site being potentially exposed to the toxic compound acetonitrile.

The National Nuclear Security Administration aims to continue shoring up its workforce by adding the equivalent of 38 full-time employees in fiscal year 2023, according to newly released details of its 2023 budget request. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapons agency seeks about $496 million, a roughly a 7% year-over-year increase, for its federal salaries […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian matters that the Exchange Monitor staff is tracking this week: April  19-20: The National Academies Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board kicks off two days of online meetings starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time each day. 20: Two committees of the Northern New Mexico Environmental Management Advisory Board hold […]

After the government won a key legal battle last week, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should allow it to enforce a presidential executive order requiring federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. On April 7 the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit overturned a nationwide preliminary injunction […]

The W93 submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead, the first in decades that is not a refurbishment of a weapon already sailing the seas, will be in line for a big budget increase if Congress goes along with the Joe Biden administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget request. W93, led by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, would see […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear waste management system saw a proposed funding increase for 2023, due in part to its absorption of the agency’s interim storage activities, according to the agency’s latest public budget document. For the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) Integrated Waste Management System, DOE requested roughly $53 million for the upcoming fiscal […]

The National Academies invites public comment between now and June 12 on an ongoing federal study of supplemental treatment options, such as grout, for the low-activity waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state that won’t be converted into glass by the Waste Treatment Plant. The public comment notification was sent out […]

An energy executive with experience in the gas distribution industry is set to become Entergy’s newest government affairs chief, the company announced this week. Entergy, New Orleans, named John Hudson as its newest senior vice president of federal policy, regulatory and government affairs, according to a press release dated Wednesday. Hudson, who will start in […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear waste management system saw a proposed funding increase for 2023, due in part to its absorption of the agency’s interim storage activities, according to the agency’s latest public budget document. For the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) Integrated Waste Management System, DOE requested roughly $53 million for the upcoming fiscal […]

The W93 submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead, the first in decades that is not a refurbishment of a weapon already sailing the seas, will be in line for a big budget increase if Congress goes along with the Joe Biden administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget request. W93, led by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, would see […]

U.S. nuclear electricity generation will continue its downward trend as more power plants close down in the coming years, the federal government’s independent energy auditor said in a recent report. Generation losses from reactor retirements contributed to a net U.S. nuclear electricity output of 778 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) […]

The Joe Biden administration last week requested a budget of $41 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board in fiscal 2023, an increase of $5 million over $36 million from the 2022 omnibus passed in early March. That 2023 request is about a 14% year-over-year increase for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). […]

The former head of the House’s energy panel won’t seek another term in Congress, he announced this week. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is retiring after a nearly 30-year stint representing Michigan’s sixth congressional district, he announced Tuesday during remarks on the House floor. “Thanks again to the people of my district who placed their faith […]

Another nuclear plant closure is partly to blame for a slight increase in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed decommissioning budget for the 2023 fiscal year, the agency said in a budget justification document published this week. Projected spending for NRC’s decommissioning and low-level waste program was up to around $23.9 million for 2023, according to […]

In congressional testimony in the House and Senate this week, the top-ranked U.S. general again touted his support for the low-yield, nuclear-tipped sea-launched cruise missile the Joe Biden administration wants to cancel. The U.S. has “lots of options” and a “significant nuclear capability” even without the missile endorsed in 2018 by the Donald Trump administration, […]

The Joe Biden administration fiscal year 2023 budget request of $41 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board would be an increase of $5 million over $36 million from the 2022 omnibus passed in early March. That 2023 request is about a 14% year-over-year increase for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). It […]

SUN VALLEY, IDAHO — Despite a perceived lack of interest in the technology at the federal level and a major roadblock in the form of federal nuclear-waste law, Curio Solutions is still carrying a torch for spent fuel reprocessing and the company’s CEO wants Congress to know. “We have a once-through fuel cycle that treats […]

The former head of the House’s energy panel won’t seek another term in Congress, he announced Tuesday. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is retiring after a nearly 30-year stint representing Michigan’s sixth congressional district, he announced Tuesday during remarks on the House floor. “Thanks again to the people of my district who placed their faith and […]