House lawmakers condemned the furloughs of 1,400 of DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) workers in a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and NNSA administrator Brandon Williams.
“As Secretary Wright noted in his press availability in Las Vegas, furloughing NNSA employees has never happened before. Government shutdowns, however, have occurred throughout the agency’s 25-year history,” the Oct. 23 letter signed by 26 House members said, referring to Wright’s press conference outside Nevada National Security Site last week after the furloughs went into effect.
“This is the fourth shutdown President Trump has presided over, but the NNSA has never furloughed employees during prior shutdowns,” the letter added. “It begs the question why this step was necessary now and why more NNSA employees were not deemed essential, given the gravity of their duties.”
The letter asked a series of questions such as what the legal basis was for these furloughs, and went on to “urgently demand” the furlough notice be rescinded.
Among the Democratic House members that signed the letter include those from nuclear districts like Reps. Dina Titus (Nev.), Eric Swalwell (Calif.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (N.M.) and Melanie Stansbury (N.M.). The representatives said the furlough announcement of 80% of the nuclear weapons complex’s federal workforce appeared to be “politically motivated” rather than the result of “careful deliberations amidst a funding shortfall.”
Local newspapers from nuclear districts reported their own numbers for layoffs, including 152 furloughs of New Mexico employees at Los Alamos and Sandia with 14 remaining between the two labs according to Source NM; 70 furloughs at Y-12 Field Office, according to Knox News; and 50 furloughs at Pantex, according to ABC News.