Vol. 21, No. 3 
NNSA Personnel, Russia Policy to Take Shape During Trump’s First Days
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
N.M. Senator Asks Trump to Keep NNSA, DOD Leadership Through Transition
A U.S. senator from New Mexico is calling on President Donald Trump to keep current National Nuclear Security Administration and Defense Department leadership in their positions until replacements are appointed. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) said Wednesday in a letter to Trump that he is concerned about NNSA continuity of operations, as Administrator Frank Klotz and […]
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Stockpile Stewardship
Perry to Address Nuclear Modernization Costs in New Role
Rick Perry, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of energy, said during his confirmation hearing Thursday with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that he would work alongside Congress to address the cost of the U.S. nuclear modernization program. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) noted that the current plan to modernize each leg of the […]
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Non-Proliferation
Trump Proposes Sanctions Cuts for Nuclear Arms Reduction Deal with Russia
President Donald Trump suggested in an interview published Monday he would pursue a nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia, with sanctions relief as a sweetener, a notion that some Russian officials and now-former President Barack Obama dismissed as two separate issues. “They have sanctions on Russia — let’s see if we can make some good […]
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National Laboratories
McCain Backs Current Nuke Modernization Plan
In a widely noted report this week calling for hundreds of billions of dollars in additional spending for the U.S. Defense Department, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) largely appeared satisfied with the present program for modernizing the nation’s nuclear deterrent. “There is bipartisan consensus in support of the current nuclear modernization plan – replacing our ballistic […]
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National Laboratories
LANL Plutonium Analysis Facility Could Remain Operational to 2021
Operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s 65-year-old Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR) building could extend two years past their latest intended end date, according to management at the Department of Energy facility. The “potential slip” of programmatic operations from 2019 to 2021 was reported in a December letter from lab Director Charles McMillan to […]
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Non-Proliferation
Anti-Nuclear Groups, DOE Quarrel in Court Over HEU Shipments to SRS
Environmental activist attorneys argued in federal court this week that an environmental assessment (EA) is needed before the Department of Energy trucks 6,000 gallons of liquid highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Canada to the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. Meanwhile, attorneys for the Energy Department want the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that there is […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
GAO Calls for More Detailed NNSA Financial Management Plan
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s latest financial management plan lacks the details necessary to serve as a road map for the agency’s activities, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a report released Thursday. The NNSA last February submitted to Congress a plan to improve the agency’s financial management, which featured a feasibility assessment, estimated costs, expected […]