Budget & Policy

President Joe Biden plans to nominate David Turk as the deputy secretary of energy, according to a Wednesday White House news release. Turk, a member of Biden’s Department of Energy transition team, is currently deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), where he has worked since 2016 after leaving the Barack Obama administration.  […]

The former head of the National Nuclear Security Administration is one of the hundreds of people who will be caught up in the Joe Biden administration’s purge of Pentagon advisory boards this month. Ex-Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty got a spot on the Defense Policy Board during the eleventh hour of the Donald Trump administration, shortly after […]

The chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s environmental subcommittee did not rule out interim nuclear waste storage sites as a part of the Biden administration’s climate agenda during a press conference Tuesday. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), who heads up the Environment and Climate Change subcommittee, told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing during the virtual […]

As of Tuesday, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and the Department of Energy are still tinkering with a draft memorandum of understanding about sharing information at nuclear-weapon sites while a Donald Trump administration order limiting DOE interactions with the board remains in effect. That’s according to a spokesperson for the independent federal board, which […]

Here are some public events related to defense- and civilian-nuclear matters that the ExchangeMonitor staff is tracking this week. February 09 Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Briefing for New Mexico legislators. Virtual event. DOE Carlsbad Field Office and Nuclear Waste Partnership. 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time. Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Post-New START Arms Control: […]

A recent summary of talking points by the Joe Biden administration’s Department of Energy did not mention nuclear power as part of the 46th President’s clean-energy policy, which has taken center stage in the early days of Biden’s term. On the other hand, the messaging guidance from the DOE Office of Public Affairs, dated Feb. […]

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will leave the Senate Armed Services Committee and join the chamber’s Appropriations Committee, keeping intact an important legislative shield for nuclear sites in the Land of Enchantment. I’m looking forward to serving as Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee as well as a member of the Appropriations Committee. I’ll also […]

A year into the pandemic, the Department of Energy is officially in the market for routine COVID-19 tests for employees who work at the agency’s Washington area headquarters, according to a request for information posted online this week. “It is anticipated that testing and support services will be required for an initial six-month period, with […]

Jennifer Granholm, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Energy, easily cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday with a 13-4 bipartisan vote, setting her on course for a floor vote that had not been scheduled at deadline Friday for Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), […]

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will leave the Senate Armed Services Committee and join the chamber’s Appropriations Committee, keeping intact an important legislative shield for nuclear sites in the Land of Enchantment. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) the majority leader, announced the committee assignments for the Democratic-controlled 117th Congress Tuesday on a call with the Senate’s Democratic […]

While it is still early in the four-year ritual over speculation over key federal jobs, Joyce Connery, a longtime government hand who chairs the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, is being mentioned as a possible Joe Biden administration choice to head the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. The Biden administration is just a […]

Jennifer Granholm, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Energy, easily cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday with a 13-4 bipartisan vote, setting her on course for a floor vote that had not been scheduled at deadline Friday for Weapons Complex Monitor. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the chair […]

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Tuesday unanimously agreed to block FirstEnergy Corp. from collecting a virtually guaranteed profit of at least $102 million each year, to which the corporation was entitled under a controversial nuclear power bailout law passed in 2019.  Approval came swiftly after the Ohio Attorney General’s office and FirstEnergy on […]

Senate Democrats assumed control of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday after the full legislature passed a power-sharing resolution, according to a Thursday press release. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) was officially appointed chairman of the committee after party leaders agreed to the organizing resolution Wednesday, the emailed press release said. Sen. Manchin served […]

The New Mexico’s state Senate Conservation Committee did not debate as scheduled this week on a proposed bill that would create a statewide  “radioactive waste consultation task force.” The committee adjourned Thursday without discussing the proposed legislation, SB 82. The committee is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday, a week after the measure first appeared on a […]

A year into the pandemic, the Department of Energy is officially in the market for routine COVID-19 tests for employees who work at the agency’s Washington area headquarters, according to a request for information posted Wednesday. “It is anticipated that testing and support services will be required for an initial six-month period, with additional 90-day […]

Jennifer Granholm, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Energy, easily cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday with a 13-4 bipartisan vote, setting her on course for a floor vote that had not been scheduled at deadline for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the chair […]

New Mexico’s state Senate Conservation Committee adjourned Tuesday without debating proposed legislation that would create a “radioactive waste consultation task force,” but the body is set to reconvene Thursday to tackle the issue.   The bill is one of 14 on the committee’s schedule this week. The body voted on only two of those 14 measures […]

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will leave the Senate Armed Services Committee and join the chamber’s Appropriations Committee, keeping intact an important legislative shield for nuclear sites in the Land of Enchantment. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) the majority leader, announced the committee assignments for the Democratic-controlled 117th Congress Tuesday on a call with the Senate’s Democratic […]

The. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Tuesday unanimously agreed to block FirstEnergy Corp. from collecting a virtually guaranteed profit of at least $102 million each year, to which the corporation was entitled under a controversial nuclear power bailout law passed in 2019.  Approval came swiftly after the Ohio Attorney General’s office and FirstEnergy on […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to approve Jennifer Granhom’s nomination to be President Joe Biden’s first secretary of energy. If the committee approves the nomination — and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), still the chair, expressed great reservation about supporting the Biden administration energy and climate policies […]

New Mexico’s state Senate will discuss a new bill Tuesday that would create a “radioactive waste consultation task force” to negotiate waste disposal siting with the federal government. The New Mexico Senate’s Conservation Committee will hear the bill, introduced by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D) on Jan. 19, and vote later on whether to send […]

Here are some public events related to defense- and civilian-nuclear matters that the ExchangeMonitor staff is tracking this week. February 04 Nuclear Diplomacy: Biden’s Middle East Aspirations. Virtual event. Carnegi Middle East Center. 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Eastern.  05 Nuclear Policy and Posture in the Biden Administration. Virtual event. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee released their subcommittee assignments Thursday, including picks for the energy and environment panels with jurisdiction over nuclear waste agencies and programs. In a full committee organizational meeting Thursday afternoon, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the chair, reviewed the assignments, which revealed no major change in Democratic leadership for either subcommittee. […]

James Biggins is now listed as the acting general manager of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, according to an organizational chart released late last week. Biggins has served as a special assistant to the chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) since September 2018 and has also served as general counsel and acting general […]

The energy and defense mix on the House Appropriations Committee, at least its leadership, will remain essentially unchanged in the 177th Congress, according to rosters released by Democrats and Republicans this week. Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) will remain chair and ranking member, respectively, of the House Appropriations energy and water development […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration barely rated as a blip this week in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s hearing to examine President Biden’s nomination of Jennifer Granholm as Secretary of Energy. In her written testimony, Granholm said enhancing American security through DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and “clean-up of our Cold War […]

James Biggins is now listed as the acting general manager of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, according to an organizational chart released late last week. Biggins has served as a special assistant to the chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) since September 2018 and has also served as general counsel and […]

Jennifer Granholm, President Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of energy, vowed Wednesday that cleaning up the Hanford Site would be a top priority if she is confirmed by the Senate. “You have my assurance that this is going to be a priority,” Granholm, the former Michigan governor, said in response to questioning from Sen. Ron […]

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), an advocate for environmental cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site, said in a statement Monday he will not run for re-election in November 2022. “This doesn’t mean I’m leaving now – I still have two more years in my term and I intend to use that time to get […]