House appropriators yesterday signed off on a reprogramming request for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, lifting the final roadblock to full Congressional approval of the eagerly awaited request. DOE submitted the request early this month in order to address what it called “misaligned funds” in its programs as a result of the Continuing Resolution funding federal programs this year as well as sequestration cuts. Last week the House and Senate Armed Services committees approved the request, and early this week it cleared Senate Appropriations. The reprogramming aims to realign a total of $273.5 million among projects at defense environmental cleanup sites and to realign $23 million in uranium enrichment D&D funds. The Department believes the reprogramming will prevent additional furloughs at several sites, and help meet cleanup milestones at sites including Hanford and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The move must now complete an approval process through the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Department’s Chief Financial Officer before funds can be apportioned at sites.
Lawmakers hailing from the several districts across the complex celebrated Congressional approval of the reprogramming. “Congress’ quick approval of the $19 million we’ve been pushing for is welcome news to prevent layoffs and ensure the stability of critical nuclear waste cleanup efforts underway at LANL,” Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. While Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) emphasized that the reprogramming is critical for the Savannah River Site, he criticized Administration’s delay in submitting it to Congress. “The fact that the Administration delayed the approval process for over a month and a half shows that defending our national security is not one of the President’s top priorities,” Wilson said in a statement, adding, “The President’s Office of Management and Budget must do its job and begin implementation by reallocating the previously appropriated resources as soon as possible. Our national security depends on it.”
