Vol. 25, No. 3 
Verdon is Acting NNSA Administrator; NNSA’s Huizenga is Acting Secretary of Energy
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Vaccinations Start at Some NNSA Sites as COVID Recoveries Outpace New Confirmed Infections
Vaccinations have started at some National Nuclear Security Administration sites, which as a group racked up more than 150 new COVID-19 cases this week, with recoveries outpacing new confirmed infections, according to agency data. The labs that received vaccines did not reply to questions about how many workers they had vaccinated, at deadline. The Nevada […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Biden SecDef Wouldn’t Back Dual Pit Plants in Confirmation Hearing
In his Senate nomination hearing this week, Secretary of Defense designate Lloyd Austin, since approved for a floor vote in the upper chamber, would not commit outright to supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s plan to build two factories to produce new plutonium pits. The Senate confirmed Biden to lead the Pentagon on Friday. “Maintaining […]
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Defense & Military
Longtime Dem HASC Staffer Heads to Pentagon Nuke, Missile Defense Post
A Democratic House staffer who has worked the nuclear weapons and strategic systems portfolio for the House Armed Services Committee for a decade has taken a Pentagon post with a similar bailiwick in the Joe Biden administration. Leonor Tomero will be deputy assistant director for nuclear and missile defense programs after inauguration day, the administration […]
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International
Biden Wants to Extend New START for Five Years
President Joe Biden wants to extend the New START nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia for five years, his press secretary confirmed Thursday. “The United States intends to seek a five-year extension of New START,” Biden’s press secretary, Jennifer Psaki, said during a Thursday briefing at the White House. “The president has […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
MSTS Tells Judge to Dismiss Lawsuit Claiming SOX Applies to Private Contractor
Attorneys for the Nevada National Security Site’s prime contractor want a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit from the company’s disgruntled ex-finance chief, who is trying to prove that the privately held contractor is subject to federal law that protects whistleblowers who expose financial misconduct at publicly traded companies. In 2019, ex-Chief Financial Officer […]
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National Laboratories
LANL Gets Another Partial Snow Day
Adding another hash mark to the record of winter disruptions on the hill, the Los Alamos National Laboratory opened late on Monday, advising essential personnel needed for national security work inside the fence to wait out some heavy snow before reporting in. That means the roughly 20% of Los Alamos’ workforce still on site amid […]
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Contracts & Procurement
CORRECTION
The story “NNSA Contractor Scorecards for Pandemic Fiscal Year Show Headaches for Pits, Non-nuclear Components, Nevada Test Instruments” (Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor, (Vol. 25, No. 02) should have said that Savannah River Nuclear Solutions earned $31.4 million of a possible $35.3 million for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) work at the Savannah River Site […]