ARLINGTON, Va. – The biggest challenge for the National Nuclear Security Administration is receiving “stable, predictable, sufficient, timeless funding” from Congress, Thomas Ashlock, the agency’s associate administrator for congressional and intergovernmental affairs, said Tuesday.
“Everyone would agree that a CR [continuing resolution] is not good,” Ashlock said, referring to a short-term stopgap spending bill that rolls over funding from the previous fiscal year in the event all 12 appropriations bills are not passed by the start of the new fiscal year. Ashlock made comments at the 2026 National Cleanup Workshop here at the Marriott Crystal Gateway.
Early in September, President Donald Trump signed a CR passed by Congress that would fund the federal government through Dec. 11 and avert a government shutdown until then. While the House reported out all 12 fiscal 2027 spending bills from the committee over the summer, according to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the Senate has not yet reported any appropriations bills from its parallel committee.
“But you know, at the end of the day, you know the Congress represents the people, and they have to come to that agreement as approved. So stable, predictable, timely, adequate funding,” Ashlock continued. “So it’s kind of our job to make sure that we give the appropriation authorizing Congress as a whole the information they need to make those decisions. Some decisions might not be what we want, but we’re going to move out the call to congressional intent.”
While the CR mostly carries over funding from fiscal 2026, the bill has some adjustments, or anomalies, for NNSA and the Office of Environmental Management. Some adjustments listed in the CR were the 17-D -640 U1a Complex Enhancements Project at Nevada National Security Site and 21-D-401 Hoisting Capability Project at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The CR seeks to authorize enough funding to make sure that these vital programs will not be disrupted or demobilized, according to the bill.