Nuclear Security & Deterrence Vol. 18 No. 47 Funding For Cruise Missile Warhead Study Included in Massive Spending Bill
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
House Lawmakers React to Peeping Tom Allegations Aboard SSBN
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 After news broke that allegations of a sailor secretly recording female officers showering aboard a nuclear missile ballistic missile submarine had surfaced, House lawmakers expressed concern about morale in nuclear forces. Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), chair of the House Armed Services Committee in a statement released Dec. 5, called the […]
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Defense & Military
DoD Strategy Nominee Reported to Senate Floor for Confirmation Vote
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Robert Scher, the Obama Administration’s pick to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities, was cleared by the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. Scher was one of three civilian nominees on Dec. 9 that the Senate Armed Services Committee favorably reported out, by voice vote, […]
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Budget & Policy
Happy Trails, Polish Cowboy
There is a legendary story in the lore of ExchangeMonitor. In the early 1980s, as Ed was just a few years in to building what would become ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums, one of Ed’s first reporters was just about at his wits end after only a few months on the job. After watching his story […]
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Budget & Policy
Edward L. Helminski, 1942-2014
ExchangeMonitor Founder and Publisher Edward Helminski Dies at 72 NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Edward Lawrence Helminski, the founder, publisher and president of ExchangeMonitor publications, died peacefully in his home in Washington, D.C, on Dec. 5. He was 72. Helminski’s diverse career spanned from academia to energy policy work with states and the White House to newsletter […]
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Budget & Policy
Governance Panel Calls for NNSA Move Back Under DOE
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise is recommending not only a major overhaul for the National Nuclear Security Administration, but a recasting of how weapons complex contractors are compensated. The 12-member panel this week released its long-awaited report, “A New Foundation for the Nuclear […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Omnibus Includes $853.3 million for Ohio-Class Replacement
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Senate is expected to vote as early as today on a Fiscal Year 2015 omnibus spending bill unveiled on Dec. 9 which would allocate $853.3 million for research, development, testing and evaluation for the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine replacement program. The appropriations bill, approved by the House Dec. 11, […]
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Non-Proliferation
Spending Bill to Provide $345 Million for MOX, Directs Continued Construction
Most Nonpro Programs See a Boost Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Despite the Administration’s plans for a shutdown of the project, construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility would continue at the $345 million funding level included in the Fiscal Year 2015 spending bill released by Congressional appropriators this week. That compares to the […]
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International
House GOP Presses Admin. to Establish Timeline for Russian Return to INF Compliance
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has prompted the Joint Chiefs of Staff to commission a military assessment of hypothetical threats posed by any Russian deployment of a ground-launched cruise missile in Europe or the Asia-Pacific region, while House Republicans this week pressed the Administration to provide […]
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Budget & Policy
GAO: DOE/NNSA Not Following Best Practices for Major Project Analyses of Alternatives
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration are not adequately employing best practices in the analysis of alternatives (AOA) for major capital projects and may continue to see cost and schedule increases on its major projects, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released this week. […]
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Budget & Policy
DNFSB Drops to Bottom of 2014 List of Best ‘Small’ Federal Agencies to Work
Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Chairman Peter Winokur said this week that he is disappointed the Board dropped to the bottom of this year’s list of best “small” federal agencies to work for, but reiterated steps the Board is taking to help improve employee morale and satisfaction. The Board was […]
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Defense & Military
Air Force Realigns Nuclear Commands
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Less than a month after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Nov. 14 announced oversight and organizational changes within the troubled nuclear enterprise, the Air Force yesterday announced it will combine acquisition and product support management functions into a single two-star command based at Kirtland AFB, N.M. Air Force Secretary Deborah […]
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International
Expert: U.S.-Russia Tensions Over Ukraine Will Have No Impact on New START
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 As tensions over the annexation of Crimea and occupation of Eastern Ukraine persist between the U.S. and Russia, the prospective advancement of further economic sanctions against Russia and potential placement of defensive weapons in Ukraine should have no impact on bilateral New START cooperation, according to Steven Pifer, former U.S. […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
New Determination on DOE Uranium Transfers in the Works, Dept. Seeks Input
Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Department of Energy is planning to develop a new secretarial determination regarding its uranium transfers to cover cleanup work at Portsmouth and the downblending of highly-enriched uranium, releasing last week a request for information from the public about potential impacts on the uranium markets. The move comes after industry […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Oak Ridge
Site Prep Work for UPF on Schedule, Under Budget, NNSA Says NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration says site preparation activities for the Uranium Processing Facility is on schedule and under budget, adding that there’s been no recorded accident or injury over the past 500-plus days. The preparations are taking place on the […]
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International
U.S. Attends Humanitarian Impact Conference
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 A State Department official during this week’s Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons called on countries, non-governmental organizations and academics to help the U.S. generate the trust and verification tools needed to bring about further worldwide nuclear reductions. Speaking on Dec. 9, the second and final day […]
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Budget & Policy
Wrap Up: In the NNSA, In the Industry, In Congress
NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 IN THE NNSA The National Nuclear Security Administration was ranked 288th out of 314 federal agency subgroups in this year’s list of the best federal agencies to work for, compiled by the by the Partnership for Public Service and released this week. The NNSA was ranked 58th in pay, but 279th in […]