Non-Proliferation

The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project has been “largely unsuccessful” in controlling project cost and schedule, according to a DOE Inspector General report released yesterday that includes several recommendations for a path forward.  While a 2007 baseline for MOX came in at $4.8 billion with a 2016 completion date, that was pushed out to […]

A Senate panel yesterday voted to authorize a $145 million increase for continued construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. The Department of Energy’s FY’15 budget requested $221 million to put the MOX facility in “cold standby”, but the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and […]

Argentina has assumed full responsibility for a pair of radiation detection systems installed at two ports by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Second Line of Defense Program. The NNSA installed radiation detection systems at the Port of Buenos Aires and the Port of Dock Sud in 2010, allowing customs officials at the ports to scan […]

With the Department of Energy looking at plutonium disposition alternatives to the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the State Department’s top arms control official said late last week that she didn’t expect Russia to object to any changes to U.S. plans. Lawmakers that have opposed the Administration’s decision to put the MOX facility in “cold […]

The House Armed Services Committee is incorporating into its version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act a bill drafted by Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) that would suspend all National Nuclear Security Administration nonproliferation work in Russia due to tensions in Ukraine. HASC Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) unveiled the full committee version […]

Legislation introduced yesterday by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and 20 other Senate Republicans designed to respond to Russia’s actions in Ukraine would terminate U.S. cooperation with parts of the New START Treaty and prohibit arms control negotiations with Moscow. In a statement, Corker said the “Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014” would go beyond sanctions […]

The United States should scale back its ambitions to restart arms control negotiations with Russia, House Republicans told a pair of State Department officials yesterday at a joint hearing of House Foreign Affairs Committee panels, citing tensions over Ukraine and Moscow’s alleged violation of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. “The United States should not continue […]

Despite tensions between the United States and Russia over Ukraine, a new report from a 21-member expert panel is urging the two countries to move forward on another round of arms control talks. The report, “Preparing for Deep Nuclear Cuts: Options for Enhancing Euro-Atlantic and International Security,” calls on the U.S. and Russian to “initiate […]

A North Carolina State-led consortium has been awarded a $25 million grant by the National Nuclear Security Administration for research and development on nonproliferation capabilities. According to the NNSA, the team will perform research and development in methods for detecting foreign nuclear weapon proliferation activities, focusing on projects to enhance simulation capabilities, algorithms and modeling; […]

Responding to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said he will introduce a bill today that would suspend all National Nuclear Security Administration work in Russia. The wide-ranging bill would prohibit the “contact, cooperation or transfer of technology” between the NNSA and the Russian Federal until Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz certifies that Russia […]

Over the last six months, the United States has reduced the size of its strategic deployed nuclear stockpile by 103 warheads, while Russia has increased the size of its stockpile, according to the latest New START Treaty data released by the State Department. The April 1 declaration reveals that the U.S. had 1,585 warheads under […]

A University of Michigan-led consortium has been awarded a $25 million grant by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development for research and development in nuclear arms control verification technologies. The grant is expected to provide the consortium $5 million per year over the five-year life of the contract, […]

The Department of Energy said yesterday that it has dropped from its Fiscal Year 2015 budget request a laser-based protective force training system it had planned on providing to Russia due to concerns about the U.S. relationship with Moscow. The announcement from DOE Press Secretary Bill Gibbons came two days after 18 House Republicans called […]

Thirty-five nations at the Nuclear Security Summit in The Netherlands have agreed to an initiative that would strengthen the international nuclear security architecture. In a joint statement drafted by the U.S., South Korea and The Netherlands, the countries agreed to implement nuclear security recommendations from the International Atomic Energy Agency and engage in peer reviews […]

The Nuclear Security Summit is coming back to the United States for its swan song in 2016, President Obama said yesterday, sparking some confusion about the summit’s precise location in the process. During a closing address at the current summit in The Netherlands, Obama initially mentioned Chicago as the site of the 2016 summit, then […]

Frustrated with the Obama Administration’s reaction to possible Russian violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, House and Senate Republicans introduced legislation yesterday to hold Moscow accountable for the potential cheating. GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced companion resolutions that would declare that Russia “violated and circumvented” the treaty and calls on President […]

House Republicans are calling on the Obama Administration to stop providing a laser-based protective force training system to Russia as tensions simmer between Washington and Moscow over Russia’s recent actions in Ukraine. The National Nuclear Security Administration’s nonproliferation program has been providing the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) to Russia since at least the […]

As expected, at the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit yesterday the Obama Administration announced plans for disposal of highly enriched uranium and plutonium in Japan as well as the removal of material from Belgium and Italy. Japan and the United states pledged to remove all plutonium and HEU from the Fast Critical Assembly, which adds up […]

The Obama Administration is expected to announce plans for removal of plutonium from Japan and special nuclear materials from several European countries at the Nuclear Security Summit taking place today and tomorrow in the Netherlands. The Administration has urged Japan to commit to returning 300 kilograms of largely weapons-grade plutonium to the United States, according […]

A four-year effort to secure vulnerable nuclear material around the world failed to provide effective security for the world’s most at-risk nuclear materials, according to a report released yesterday by Harvard’s Belfer Center. The report, which comes on the eve of next week’s third Nuclear Security Summit, notes that the four-year effort that wrapped up […]

Liz Sherwood-Randall, the White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control, downplayed the impact of the Administration’s recent decision to put the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility into cold standby, emphasizing yesterday that the Administration had “extensive” discussions with Russia about a potential shift in its plutonium disposition plans. […]

The Obama Administration is requesting $365.1 million in Fiscal Year 2015 for the Department of Defense’s Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction account, a $135.4 million reduction from FY 2014 funding levels that likely reflects a slow-down in nuclear security work in Russia. Funding for Nunn-Lugar work has remained relatively steady in recent years, with $446.2 million […]

Despite tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine and reported threats from Moscow that it might bar arms control inspectors from the country over concerns about potential sanctions, the two countries are continuing to cooperate in the lead-up to the Nuclear Security Summit, a senior White House official said yesterday. Scheduled for the Netherlands […]

Russia has not directly told the United States that it could put an end to U.S. arms control inspections in response to sanctions over a disagreement about Ukraine, Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend. Russian news reports had suggested that Russia could stop arms control inspections, […]

United States and Russian tensions over Ukraine are threatening to spill over into arms control efforts by the two countries. According to Russian news reports, Russia is considering disallowing nuclear weapons inspections that are part of arms control treaties with the United States, including the New START Treaty, in response to potential U.S. sanctions against […]

The Senate will vote today on the nomination of Rose Gottemoeller to be the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security after it voted yesterday to cut off debate on her nomination. The 55-45 vote yesterday  to invoke cloture and set up today’s confirmation vote came in spite of repeated Republican opposition […]

After delays because of snowy weather in Washington, D.C., the Senate could take up the nomination of Rose Gottemoeller, the Obama Administration’s nominee for Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, in the coming days. Gottemoeller’s nomination has languished in the Senate for more than a year, but Senate Majority Leader Harry […]

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pushed the Obama Administration to take a harder stance against Russia’s alleged violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, suggesting that not treating the violation as a “red line” reduces U.S. credibility among its allies. “I think that should be very concerning to all of us,” Rubio said at a Heritage […]

An Obama Administration official said yesterday that the Senate was informed of a possible issue involving Russian compliance with an arms control treaty in the fall of 2010, several months before the Senate cleared the New START Treaty. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Brian McKeon, President Obama’s nominee to be Principal Deputy Under […]

President Obama yesterday signed a new civil nuclear agreement with Vietnam that has raised questions because of a lack of legally binding restrictions on enrichment and reprocessing, according to reports. The deal with Vietnam that was finalized last October has instead a nonbinding commitment from Vietnam to rely on existing fuel services rather than developing […]